Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Let’s pause after reading our Verse of the Day. Because for some of us, that first word might be sort of foreign to our modern sensibilities. "I wait quietly." Even just saying that word—"quietly"—it feels a little unfamiliar to the way that we think about how we live our lives.
When Did You Last Choose Silence?
When was the last time that you were absolutely quiet? I'm not just talking about for a second, or a moment of silence that might feel a little awkward in a conversation. I'm talking about where you intentionally allowed silence to be welcomed in your presence—where you did whatever it took to silence outside noise and allow quiet to be your intention. The reason I ask this is that the more I read the Bible, the more I see that this move toward quiet was essential for the follower of the Way. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, we see examples of how getting away and finding quiet was a priority. You think about different descriptions of how quiet was found, but it all amounts to the same thing.
The Wilderness and the Lonely Place
One of the ways we see this is when people go out to the wilderness. Now we think of wilderness and we think about how that word represents something I don't want to be in and want to get out of as soon as possible. But biblically, the wilderness represented a sort of quiet. When you would go to the wilderness, there was no distraction. There was nothing to interfere. There was no noise—either auditory or visually. That's why when you're reading the Bible, you see so many times where God met with someone in the wilderness. Fast forward to the New Testament, and you don't have to go far to find this pursuit of quiet. You look at Jesus. It says even after times where He does these incredible miracles, very quickly it describes Him as someone who wants to retreat and find a lonely place to pray, to find some silence, to find some solitude.
Sheket—An Inner Silence
Why is the quiet so important? It says in the verse we just read: I wait in quiet because my victory comes from Him. It's in the silence that I'm able to hear. I'm able to receive. I'm able to know what my life should look like moving forward. It's in quiet, with no distractions.
I think about this one Hebrew word for silence or quiet in the Bible—and it's the word sheket. Sheket is not just an auditory silence. It's actually an inner silence. What comes to mind for me is the example of being at a sporting event or a party where there's loud music or cheering or a lot of people talking, and you get a phone call. You pick up the phone and you're trying to hear the person on the other side, but it's so loud around you that you can't hear. You step outside of the noisy situation in order to be able to hear the person on the other line.
Here's what's interesting—nothing was wrong with the way the person on the other side of the phone was talking. They were talking appropriately loud enough to be heard. The issue wasn't their volume. The issue was you finding silence. This is how God is wanting us to understand life here on earth when it comes to His direction, His guidance, His knowledge of you. We need to find places where we can quiet the noise—silence our minds, our hearts, our ears—so that we can hear from the living God. When we find that quiet, we will find victory in Him.