Monday Morning Manna: Just be Quiet

It had been one of those long, sleepless nights – the kind where you keep waking up and talking to God. The issue causing my insomnia, was troubling, and I kept thinking, that I just needed to keep talking with God about it. After all, I had spent a career teaching and preaching that God wanted to hear from us. It was still dark when I finally gave up, and got up. I got dressed and got in the car to look for a place to eat breakfast, still talking with God. As the car engine came on, the Sirius radio began to play – SXM Channel 65, enLigthen. It was Sheri Easter, singing, “I’ll be quiet so You can hear my heart.” Half way to breakfast, it hit me. God had heard all of my words that He needed to hear. I just needed to be quiet and let God hear my heart. Reflecting on the words of the song, my mind transferred to Psalm 46:10, “Be still, (cease striving, NASB; calm down, Contemporary English Version) and know that I am God.” Then my mind switched to Habakkuk 2:20, “The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him” or better yet, the paraphrase of The Message, “Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!” Sometimes we need to talk with God. Sometimes we need to just be quiet.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford