#17 - Silent ‘ight
Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child!
Holy Infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night,
Darkness flies, all is light;
Shepherds hear the angels sing,
"Alleluia! hail the King!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born."
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.
Silent night, holy night,
Wondrous star, lend the light;
With the angels let us sing
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born.
-Joseph Mohr (1816)
-Franz Xaver Gruber (1818)
‘ight…here we go, friends…#17! It’s crazy to think I have been at this since warm…sunny…beautiful July (NGL…I miss Summer ya’ll!).
We all know the infamous Christmas song “Silent Night”…and if you don’t…I’d be surprised since it is nearly 189 years old. Some fascinating information on this Christmas bop: Fascinating "Silent Night" Info. It’s about to be Christmas and I love music (shocking I know) so what better way than to tie in a Christmas song with a Holy Spirit given and driven blog this week?! I made it no secret last week that I am going through a lot and believe it or not…things got a little worse. Don’t worry…I am not going to dissect complaints because there is no need to…in the midst of things getting worse…I was given a clear message: “Be still and know that I am God”. - Psalm 46:10. I haven’t spoken to one person that is not stressed right now to be honest; so if you are in the group that is not stressed right now…I am legit happy for you and I encourage you to pray for those that are stressed. For some, this time of year is an emotional flare up…but for me it is random things that don’t particularly make sense despite being guided to where I am by Holy Spirit. So, I THINK I can see the 20/20 but I am still waiting on God’s 100/100 as my faith remains strong and my eyes are fixated on Him because I know in my heart that he will deliver me from this season of occupational “Egypt”.
So as MGST and I are actually doing something I didn’t initially want to do: read The Bible cover to cover (because I had heard from others that reading the bible cover to cover wasn’t always the best idea): but I was called to do it and when MGST happened to mention it...I didn’t hesitate…I took it as a sign and a proper spiritual challenge. That being said, we are now in Exodus which I know is only the second book in The Bible but here are the odds we are talking about here before I go any further so that you can get a better understanding of the awe I am in:
1. I have been going through a rough time…see last week’s blog for more context (Parenthesis Rabbit Hole: Melatonin is awful for me but hey I had the opportunity to try!) and some of those things are still going on, some things got a little worse, and then some new stuff occurred…so needless to say it’s been a stressful week…GOOD!!!
2. Wednesday came around and I was driving home while talking to MGST on the phone and he was trying to speak life into my situation (he’s truly the best). Truthfully, I hadn’t even begun to think about what I was going to write about because it has been so stressful lately. All of the sudden during that impactful conversation with MGST, Holy Spirit intervened, “Write about the power of silence.” I interrupted the conversation with MGST and explained what Holy Spirit had just said to me because it never fails to give me goosebumps when I hear Holy Spirit (this is something I have been picking up on to be honest). MGST immediately mentioned “Exodus 14:14 says “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” We hadn’t gotten there yet in our daily readings as we just started this book in The Bible not too long ago. I will come back to this.
3. As I am encountering the difficulties, I continue to get life spoken into me by God’s Word, Holy Spirit, Family, Friends, and MGST; a common element in all of those conversations was encouragement for me to pray and cry out to The Lord…so I did. I prayed to God to show me signs for direction. The very next day, some drastic things happened that I cannot write about due to confidentiality…but the signs were so evident that I am now on a different path and plan to stay on the course until God delivers me from this temporary season of struggle that I am in…and yet I am never alone…this brings me to point #4.
4. Fast forward a couple days and here we are…my blog is due today (yes I am still writing it-haha!) and in today’s reading we finally read Exodus 14:14. A non-coincidence because why? You already know…there are no coincidences with God. And…I am not alone…The Lord fights for me.
Now I am going to go back to bulletpoint #2 and give you the definition of “still” according to Merriam Webster (Merriam Webster: Stillness):
Stillness:
-Restfulness: a state of freedom from storm or disturbance.
-Silence: the incapacity for or restraint from speaking.
-Quietness: the near or complete absence of sound.
I am going to go on to give you some synonyms to “stillness” here:
-tranquility
-peace
-serenity
-respite
-relaxedness
-mildness
(Non-coincidentally enough this word from the list matches the lyrics to “Silent Night”.)
Now I am going to give you some antonyms to “stillness” here:
-unrest
(No coincidence that I was struggling with “unrest” as I previously tried Melatonin.)
-pandemonium
-turmoil
-commotion
-tumult
Initially when I was told to write about ”silence” and stillness…I knew it was going to be a positive thing but I remember a time when I wasn’t leaning into living a biblical lifestyle and culture meant something to me…truth of the matter is culture doesn’t always value silence. (Parenthesis Rabbit Hole: For the record…silence during oppression, harassment, etc. and silence due to suppression of expression are NOT what I am talking about here.) I didn’t want to feel like I was being shut down…because I have encountered that enough in my life…and I am sure you have as well. The cool thing is…I can attest that I am not being shut down when I am silent…this morning while doing devotionals and reading God’s word, Holy Spirit said to me, “Silence isn’t suppression, it is an opportunity to use you free will to clearly communicate with God and have peace in His presence.” So…when I am silent…I am actually being prepared for God’s will…and that my friends…goes for everyone that’s a fellow child of God. This particular stillness and silence is unmistakably sacred…and yet there is a season…a time…a place for this and God’s truth backs this up in Ecclesiastes 3:7 "There is a time for everything... a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.” Maybe this looks like getting up at 5am each morning like some holy weirdos do (it’s me) and reading God’s word, praying, talking with him while slamming some miles on the bike, singing his praises, and doing your best to bless others throughout your day. My mornings didn’t always look like this…I had to make time. Now adding to that routine…will be a time of silence. What does silence and stillness look like to you, friend? Maybe silence is less screen time. Maybe silence looks like not posting on Facebook or taking a social media break. I’ve had that season of being off social media before because the things I’d post weren’t healthy for me or for others; since I have repented…I don’t post on social media if it isn’t family, music, art, writing, positive, or God centered. Maybe silence is shutting out the news, bad habits, or removing toxicity from your life (insert your nouns here). Maybe spiritual silence reminds you of silent monks or other religious figures that took vows of silence. Maybe silence looks like hibernation and rest (God even set up nature to do these things in Winter!). Maybe your silence is literal like Zechariah’s in Luke 1: 19-20 where the angel Gabriel spoke to Zechariah about his wife Elizabeth’s pregnancy (who was John the Baptist) and said “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” I jokingly said to MGST when he initially gave me the idea to implement this verse by saying, “I mean…some women may be okay with their significant others not speaking for a whole pregnancy term!” Just kidding guys…shout out to all the supportive parents out there raising littles together with healthy communication!!! I like what Jesus did to be still which is evident in Mark and Luke. Mark 1:35 says, “ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” In Luke 5:16 the Bible says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”. So clearly…if The Son Of God is taking the time for solace to talk with Abba…I believe our silence and stillness should look like this. No matter what silence looks like to you…may it look like stillness and its synonyms…not its antonyms because that’s how it is meant to be…silence and stillness should go hand in hand.
There is power in silence and stillness…yet the enemy will lie and try to say “you’re being suppressed and your power is being taken from you”, the enemy will work through culture to try to manipulate God’s truth in silence and His beauty behind stillness, the enemy revels in chaos and confusion to divide us from others. Don’t let the enemy lie to you…make time for a relationship with God. There are two Christian sayings that come to mind as I am typing this:
“No God, no peace; know God, know peace”: Go ahead…scroll back up to the definition of “stillness” and read those synonyms…sounds a lot like PEACE, hm?
"Relationship (with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit) over Religion.”: In other words…practice what you preach. Don’t just say you love God and not have a relationship with Him. My favorite love language is quality time…nearly EVERYONE makes time for SOMEONE. If we don’t make time to have our personal, set apart (holy), extraordinary relationship with Abba…we aren’t truly living into the full potential of putting our faith in God. This also deprives us of peace with Him and opportunities to communicate in stillness. How are we to help God’s kingdom here on Earth as it is in Heaven if we can’t simply…be still and make time for Him? This upcoming week (ideally the rest of your life)…I encourage you to take 5 minutes of your morning to get up a little earlier and just silently sit in stillness in His presence. See what Holy Spirit has to say to you; maybe even have a notebook nearby and write it down…whatever you do…be still and know that He is Lord for 5 minutes of your morning. If you choose to do this, I’d love to know how it impacts you.
For those that are unsure of how Holy Spirit speaks (gentle reminder of Matthew 10:20 “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking in you."), for those that are looking for “proof” of how Holy Spirit speaks (gentle reminder here of 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we live by faith, not by sight.”)…or my personally relatable people that need to be reminded to keep your eyes fixated on God and trust that He will handle the rest (gentle reminder here of Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”)…allow me to share something useful…a simple phrase…as you consider your daily 5 minutes of silence before you go out into the world: “Credo Ut Intelligam. I first heard this phrase in The Alpha Course. It’s technically a Catholic phrase from St. Anselm of Canterbury meaning “I believe in order to understand.” It defines one of the functions of faith as giving light to the mind. Those who believe acquire a capacity for knowledge, even in earthly terms, that unbelievers do not possess.” (Resource: Credo Ut Intelligam). It is also directly related and inspired by Isaiah 7:9, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Now, I am not Catholic but this is relevant because if we don’t have a relationship with God, we don’t know Him and if we don’t know Him, we can’t trust Him, and if we can’t trust him we can’t be still and know that He is God, and if we can’t be still and know that He is God…we have no faith to stand firm in which means…we will not stand at all; in other words…it’s all tied together in a beautiful bow.
Here are a few other scriptures to encourage your 5 minutes of silence and stillness. Also, please don’t forget your silence and stillness on Christmas, friends…we can do this even on a holiday…make time for Abba! This is HIS word talking here afterall:
Psalm 62:1: "For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation"
Psalm 65:1: “To you, O God, silence is praise.”
Isaiah 30:15: "In repentance and rest you will be saved; in quietness and trust is your strength"
One last thought…a little peek into MGST and I’s action packed movie watching life (he’s an avid fan of action movies & Jason Statham)...he got me to watch The Meg and The Meg 2 (both of which are good movies). In the second movie, The Meg 2: The Trench (directed by Ben Wheatley), Jason Statham plays a character named Jonas that holds an impactful philosophy which was continuously threaded through the movie, "We work the problems one by one. We do what's in front of us, then we do the next thing," This line reminded me that managing “trenches” (trench = a long narrow ditch one could get stuck in…just sayin’!) must be a step-by-step process, rather than getting overwhelmed by situations. So if we make step 1 in that process by seeking God first like in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” then we know we are always on the right path by going to The One that loves us most.
Other than “Silent Night”…here’s the song for this week by Harborside Music. The song is called “Secret Place”:
https://youtu.be/oELgmi2itZc?si=jHzMyzyJijN0eUYa
For “silent ‘ights”, for sacred 5 morning minutes, for stillness, for silence, for God’s truth, for Holy Spirit’s guidance, for Jesus’s faithful way, for The Holy Trinity’s presence, for my loved ones, for quality time, for Christmas, and for having an authentic relationship with Abba…I am…
#Satisfied
