We seem to be obsessed with our bodies. If you believed the commercials, you would believe that you really can lose 30 pounds in ten days while eating everything you want. Or if that doesn’t work, you can buy the Reduce-EZ girdle, and lose weight just by wearing it. If that doesn’t do it, you can take the Fat-Magnet pill to flush the fat from your body. For the more serious minded you can order the Soloflex machine which shows men and women with rippling muscles they have developed in just 15 minutes a day. I went to the Infomercial web site and found out all the great ways I can improve my body. I can get rid of a flabby stomach with the Ab-doer, the Abrageous, the Ab Roller or the Ab Swing. I can get into shape by buying the Total Gym, The Firm body sculpting system or the Bun & Thigh Rocker. I could buy step aerobics or Taebo videos. I can grow all my hair back, regain my youth and enhance my physical appearance in countless ways.
It is interesting how preoccupied we are with our bodies and give so little attention to our spirit and soul. In our society you could do very well by having a body by Soloflex and a mind by Mattel. We are a culture which worships symbol over substance. As long as we look good on the outside it doesn’t matter what we are like on the inside. Hollywood and Nashville are full of beautiful and vacuous people. Many of them are shells of humanity. What does it mean to be fully alive and fully human? It means that we develop our inner lives as well as our outer lives. It is in the interior life where we make preparations for the exterior life.
The next several weeks we will be talking about the spiritual disciplines — the methods by which we develop our inner life. I would recommend two classic books on the subject if you would like to go deeper. The first is Richard Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, and Dallas Willard’s book The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. Reading these books, and putting their teaching into practice, will change your life, but you will not experience a change if you are still doing everything you want to do and only working at the spiritual disciplines a few times a month. You have to have a spiritual hunger for something more. You have to want to live life at a deeper level. Dallas Willard says, “The spiritual life is a life of interaction with a personal God, and it is pure delusion to suppose that it can be carried on sloppily. The will to do his will can only be carried into reality as we take measures to be ready and able to meet and draw upon him in our actions.”
We will be looking at a different spiritual discipline each week. Today we will be considering the discipline of silence and solitude. These disciplines of the spiritual life are so wonderful, but they are also difficult because they are so counter cultural. The music of the culture is so loud and angry. Sometimes the radio is way too loud for me and it is the radio in the car behind me. I literally seems to be pulsing and rocking with the vibrations. We have media centers in our homes which pour out immorality and violence. Now our cars have VCR’s and DVD’s, as well as stereos. People walk around with headsets on. We can’t stand the silence.
I love the Canadian wilderness so much, and I suffered under the delusion that once my wife and girls went there, they would love it too. I still remeber being in the middle of the wilderness canoeing on a pristine lake when I said to the girls, "Do you hear that?" "Hear what," they said. "The silence," I responded. "Yes," they grumbled, "and we hate it." Oh well...
A lot of people feel that way about silence. Perhaps we are afraid of our thoughts. That’s why the world finds its fulfillment in partying; they want to be distracted. But if we want to live something more than a shallow life, we want to go into the world of solitude and silence.
As we look at this important spiritual discipline, we want to ask, first of all: Why do we need solitude? Spiritual disciplines are for the purpose of disciplining our desires and feelings, and turning them away from our physical appetites and setting them toward God. Solitude means getting alone for awhile so that we can begin to know ourselves and know God in a deeper way. We also need to get away from noise. We need solitude and silence because the world is bombarding us with all kinds of emotional messages — many of which are not only wrong, but detrimental to our spiritual well-being. We need to get in touch with reality and the truth. We need to get in touch with ourselves. And most of all we need to get in touch with God, our Creator. We need to get a proper perspective and realign our priorities. Our lives are so filled with noise. We are so inundated with subtle and not so subtle messages. We are overstimulated. We need to reduce the stimulation so that we can hear ourselves think, and hear what God is saying to us. We need to get alone with God.
It is amazing to me, as I read the Gospels, how much Jesus went off by himself to be alone. His world was not nearly so cluttered as ours, but he often got away from the crowds to be alone. Today we have people who will embarrass themselves for the privilege of five minutes of fame on reality TV. Politicians and television evangelists love publicity and will do extraordinary things to be in the spotlight. But not Jesus. At the moment people wanted to force him to be the king of Israel, he withdrew. Instead of putting the microphone to the mouths of the people he healed, he told them not to tell anyone about what he had done. Instead of publicity, he sought solitude. He said that our giving, fasting and praying should be done quietly and secretly. He put it like this: “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).
Jesus was always going off to be alone and pray. Before he began his public ministry he went into the desert by himself, fasting and praying for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-11). So many people think that it was because he was alone and hungry that he was tempted in the way he was. Actually, the 40 days of fasting and prayer are what prepared him for the temptations and enabled him to overcome them. The desert was not the place where Jesus became weak, it was the place where he gained power to face the temptations of the devil, both then and for the days to come.
He continued to seek solitude and silence as he went away before he chose his twelve disciples (Luke 6:12-13). He went away again when he received news of his cousin John the Baptist’s death (Matthew 14:13). After the healing of a leper, the Bible says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). He went to be alone after he fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:23). Before his Transfiguration he was in solitude (Matthew 17:1-9). And then before his arrest, trial and crucifixion he was alone in prayer (Matthew 26:36-46).
The question is: If Jesus was in such need of solitude and prayer, why would we ever think that we do not need it? If the Son of God needed a time and place for prayer, how much more do we need it? Let’s look again at the times Jesus went to be in solitude. He went to be alone before a major life change. He went alone to listen to God before important decisions. He went to be alone to grieve over the loss of a loved one. He went to be alone after a great victory and successful ministry. He was alone before a great spiritual event took place in his life. And finally, he was alone as he entered the most difficult period of his life — when trouble, suffering and death were facing him.
These are the same kind of situations where we need solitude and silence. Are you facing a major decision or life change? Is there an event coming up for which you need to be prepared? Are you grieving or in some sorrow? Have you just expended a great deal of energy on something with which you were successful? You need to get away and recharge your batteries. You need a quiet place where you can listen to God. You need to prepare for the days which are coming.
In thinking about the spiritual discipline of solitude and silence, we want to ask a second question: What are the benefits of solitude? Some people get their energy from being around a lot of people with a lot of things going on. Others get their energy from being alone. But both need the benefits of regular solitude. I need solitude every day. The first thing I do in the morning is get alone with God. I read the Scriptures and then I pray. I have a list of people and needs I pray for, and then I pray for the situations I will be facing that day. I pray about the future of my life, my life goals, the life of the church, and the world. It prepares me for the day and gives me a confident outlook. It helps me to look into the future with hope and anticipation. By being alone it prepares me to be with other people. It gives me peace to face difficult people and difficult situations. Sometimes I am praying for a situation that I believe is going to be extremely difficult, and then when I am actually in the situation, it seems to go so much more smoothly than I anticipated. It is such a joy to see God answer prayer. If you never take time to pray, you never experience that joy.
I also use the time in the morning to read good books that help me spiritually. But I need more time than just the few hours that I have in the morning. I regularly take extended time on my day off to go into the woods where I am completely off the beaten path. I take a good book to read. I pray and I listen. Sometimes I am so alone it seems like there is another Presence all around me. The woods are so silent that they seem to be talking. These are very important times for me. And then there are times when I go away for a whole week. Sometimes it is for a week of study and writing. Other years I have gone to the Abbey of the Genesee, a Roman Catholic monastery, for a week where total silence is observed the entire time you are in the monastery — even at meals. There are no televisions, radios or any other kinds of outside distractions. Whether it is for an hour, a day, or a week, solitude creates an inner peace and strength. But the greatest benefit is the awareness of the presence of God. This past week nearly 20 pastors from the churches in town got together for our third prayer summit. Several different denominations were represented. We went away for two days where we prayed for each other, the churches we serve, and for spiritual renewal in our community. It was a time where we experienced the presence of God in a wonderful way.
There is a classic story in the Old Testament that involves the prophet Elijah. Elijah has taken on the world power of King Ahab and his wicked queen Jezebel. He called the prophets of Baal to a duel. Two piles of wood were placed on two stone altars. Then a bull for an offering was placed on top of each pile of wood. The challenge was that all the prophets of Baal would call to their storm god to send lightening to consume the sacrifice, and Elijah would then call on the God of Israel to consume the sacrifice on the other altar. The prophets of Baal prayed, but nothing happened. They danced and cut themselves, but there was no response. Their god who held a lightning bolt in his hand was powerless. Then Elijah stepped up. He poured water over the wood on the altar and uttered a simple prayer. Lightening fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood and all the water in the trench around the altar. The people began to cry out, “The Lord — he is God. The Lord — he is God.” It was a great victory.
But Jezebel was angry and threatened to kill Elijah, as she had so many of the Lord’s prophets. Elijah was afraid and discouraged, so he ran and hid in a cave. While he was there, the Bible says, “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave” (1 Kings 19:11-13). We are so accustomed to the spectacular, and we love it when God moves in that way. But the presence and voice of God are more often experienced in a gentle whisper — the still, small voice — and you will not hear it unless you are in a quiet place by yourself.
There is so much noise in the world. Our senses are constantly being overwhelmed by sights and sounds. We need to find a quiet place where our spirits can be renewed and refreshed. Only in solitude are we prepared for the activity and stress we face each day. It is where we learn to lose control and realize that God is in control. Solitude and silence are where we get to know ourselves and our God.
But the third question is: How do we move into solitude? How can we make this a part of our lives? Deliberately carve out a time each day. Don’t let anything interfere with it. Have a special chair, or a special room, so that people know that at a certain time of the day when you are there, you are not to be disturbed. Put a sign on the door if you have to. Take some extended time each week if you can. Go on a hike, get in a boat, go for a drive, ride a bike, take a walk or take a trip. Maybe you can’t do something like that. Perhaps you will fish, hit golf balls alone, or even shop. But turn the activity into more than just the activity. Use your time alone to reflect. Talk to God and listen for his response.
I know that mothers of young children have very little time to be alone, and it can be very frustrating. Use the time you have for little solitudes. Play restful music. Lock the door when you are in the bathroom and keep a Bible there. Make it your meditation chamber. Use the time that you drive to the store alone to think and pray, and be sure to turn off the radio. Go for a walk when your husband gets home. Use the snatches of time that you get from time to time to get in touch with yourself and God. Get the grandparents to babysit while you and your husband spend a night or two away somewhere where you can be alone. Read and think in those rare times when the kids are busy doing something else besides pulling on you. If you can, hire someone to babysit so that you can be alone somewhere for a time of prayer or reading.
Here is where our hearts are developed and grown. We cannot develop spiritually unless we have solitude and silence. God does meet us in the noise of life at times. He surprises us in the chaos and confusion of life. But most often he meets us in the quiet place where his voice can be heard. The Bible says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength’” (Isaiah 30:15).
C. S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity says, “God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
Rodney J. Buchanan
January 19, 2003
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
Finding God in the Silence
Questions for January 19, 2003
1. Why is our society so obsessed with our bodies, and so little concerned with our spirits?
2. Why do the people of our culture seem to be so afraid of being alone?
3. Why is there so much noise, and why are we so uncomfortable with silence?
4. Why do we need solitude?
5. How much is solitude and silence a part of your life?
6. How much was solitude and silence a part of Jesus’ life? What does this say about its importance?
7. What are the benefits of solitude and silence?
8. How can you build this spiritual discipline more effectively into your life?
9. Read 1 Kings 19:11-13. Where was Elijah looking for God? Where did he actually find him? What does this have to say to us?
10. Read Isaiah 30:15. How would your life be different if you followed the truth of this Scripture?
