The restoring power of stillness
TweetI spent much of last year meditating on Psalm 23. I still go back to it frequently. The Psalmist says that the Good Shepherd leads us beside quiet waters (literally waters at rest) and He restores our soul. I spent a lot of time the first two days of this week in solitude and silence at the Quabbin Reservoir. I saw two beavers and an otter there on Tuesday (you can see the beaver peeking out of the water in the picture below). Every time I walk to this quiet place, and stand by these still waters, I meditate on Psalm 23.
This week I reflected on the restorative power of solitude, silence and stillness. Let me share some of the ways stillness restores my soul.
First, solitude restores my energy. When I take time alone with God, I find that the life of Christ flows into my inner being and refreshes me. As I sat out there by the still waters and meditated on Psalm 23, I could feel my emotional and spiritual energy being replenished. It always helps me to practice silence and solitude in nature. Being outside in God’s beautiful creation, feeling the fresh air, seeing the creation, listening to the sounds of nature, always helps the re-creative process. There I feel God’s goodness and my soul is refreshed.
Second, solitude, silence and stillness restores my peace. When my schedule is hectic my mind and heart race to keep up with my pace. My soul, which I often liken to a lake, gets choppy waters. But when I take time to slow down, to be still, the lake of my soul becomes calm and peaceful. Jesus is always at peace. He offers us His peace. It is the peace of heaven – it is undisturbed and unperturbed peace. When we take time to be still and fix our eyes on Him, His peace is restored to our busy, sometimes turbulent souls.
Third, solitude, silence and stillness restores my capacity to love. When I am too busy, I can become impatient, and irritable. My compassion wanes as my emotional energy is depleted by busyness. But when I sit still before The Lord, with my eyes fixed on Jesus’ loving presence, He restores my soul and fills my heart with His love once again. We love, the Apostle John said, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). When, in quietude, we create space for His love to renew us, our capacity to love is re-filled.
Fourth, solitude, silence and stillness restores my ability to notice. As I am more rested in God’s presence, I become more attentive. It is hard to notice things when I am sprinting past them in life. But when I begin to slow down, I begin to notice things again – like beauty in creation. I become more attentive to other people’s needs as I slow down my busy pace. And I begin to notice more of God’s activity in my life – I am more attentive to His workings, His ways and His whispers.
Robert Frost once wrote a famous poem called, “The Road Not Taken.” He ended with these words:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Solitude, silence and stillness are the road less traveled in our day. In our wordy world, where we are constantly connected through our technological devices, we seldom disconnect and practice true stillness. We run from work to home, eat a quick meal, and run to some other event, only to run home and take in more activity – all the while we are bombarded with emails, texts, phone calls and FaceBook messages. Stillness is the road less traveled. Over the last year and a half in my life I have spent far more time traveling down this wooded trail “and that has made all the difference.”
Travel down this road. Practice 10 minute retreats regularly. Be still. Quiet your soul. Fix your eyes on Jesus. And He will restore your soul.
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