Words

Words are my bread and butter. I use a lot of words—writing, blogging, preaching, and teaching. I read a lot of words. Some I read for my own edification and some I read, honestly, because I love the way the author uses words, the way he or she paints pictures with words. I am aware that I have incorporated some of the styles of authors and preachers I admire into my own usage—sometimes on purpose, and sometimes unconsciously. I love words.

But there are times when I run out of words. Or when I get tired of words. There are times when I don't know if I can produce or listen to one more word. We live in a word-filled world. Facebook constantly wants to know what's on my mind, and Twitter would like me to tell you what's happening. Not to mention that I'm expected to keep up with all my friends on social media—and read all the words they produce. And, of course, for a preacher, there is the expectation that every seven days I have new words to share with the congregation. Sunday comes every week!

Then there are the twenty-four hour news cycles, where words flow freely (and not always because the speakers have thought them out). There are very few restaurants, doctor's offices or even gas pumps these days where there aren't screens producing words and noise and images. We are inundated with words.

Which is why, whether we realize it or not, we long for silence and we struggle with prayer. We honestly don't know what to do when it's just "me and God." And when there is silence in the worship service, we get uncomfortable. We're used to the noise, to the words. We don't know what to do with ourselves. But the Scriptures remind us that God is found in the silence. When Elijah desperately needed to have a connection with God, he had to wait through wind and fire and earthquake until a "still, small voice" spoke (1 Kings 19). The psalmist reminds us to "be still" in order to really know God. God shows up in the silence.

Words are my bread and butter. Words are the way I make a living. But if I really want to make a life, if I want to connect with the one who is the Word, I need to find time to be still, to be quiet and let Him speak to me. Where will you find time today to be quiet, to get away from the noise and stop talking and just let God be with you?