Noiselessness

We've been given an opportunity and a gift like no others in our lifetime---noiselessness.

Noiselessness: the quality or state of being noiseless; quiet or hush.

This is the state we are in. There is so much less noise around us now, both inwardly and outwardly. We can see families playing with their children now more than ever. We see entire highway systems, normally congested by thousands of cars, now free and clear. We see our environment getting cleaner with less pollution, smog, and littering. We see signs of spring and hope with the chirping of birds and the blossoming of daffodils, tulips, and other perennials coming alive.

So what do we do in this time of noiselessness? Isn't "doing" the opposite of the stillness we are feeling right now? Why must we do anything? Because we have been given a gift---the gift of getting our time back and eliminating the excuses of being too busy to stop and give God any of our time. The gift of noiselessness provides the stillness to hear Him communicate with us. It's the gift of hearing Him utter truths and direction into our tired and weary hearts.

I had been toiling over a position I had been offered to direct a national campaign with a nationwide organization in D.C., but I just did not have the peace to move forward. However, I didn't have a lack of peace either. I had been praying for a few months over what to do. I felt, in one sense, God had opened the door for me, and I was so excited to be working in my calling with an influential organization. I felt I was answering a calling I have felt for most of my life. On the other hand, there was this conflict and God knew the conflict.

I had teams of prayer warriors across the country praying for me, for a direct answer to this situation, yet I was still unable to hear an answer. In the midst of a pandemic and a national quarantine---in the midst of stillness and noiselessness---while cooking a nutritious meal and my family's favorite cookies, God distinctly whispered the answer He's had for me all along. It wasn't until my days were quieted that I was able to assuredly hear His voice imparting truths that were vital to my decision to turn down the position.

So what do we do in this noiseless state?

God has given us the answer already. "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10. Many people stop there, but it's in the next portion of verse 10 where, I believe, the real answer prevails. God says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Have we not seen God prevail throughout the earth during this pandemic? Will I not see God prevail as He is exalted on earth by my decision to be still and honor Him? By staying home with my family and continuing to raise my children in the ways of the Lord, doing the work He's called me to on a local scale? God encouraged me and told me more opportunities will come, but for now, this is where He wants me. I urge you: be still. Don't waste this opportunity to communicate with God. Be attentive to Him. Wait for his direction in the noiselessness.