Sunday Seed Thoughts: Sanctified Silence

Author, educator and theologian, Howard Thurman, once told a story about one of his university students, a deep-sea diver, who wrote about his experience on the ocean floor.

Discovering a coral rock garden, he sat down to look around. First, a single fish swam up to look at him. Then more and more fish were swimming around him. Soon, the garden became more intense. More vivid. More colorful. Plants opened revealing their blossoms.

After sitting there a long while, he began to swim away and suddenly the flowers and fish disappeared. They were living things that only emerged when there was stillness.

Glenn Pease who related Thurman’s story observed that the diver realized that if you come thrashing and splashing into such a garden you would never experience its full beauty. “He learned that there are marvelous things
you will never see unless you sit in silence.”

We’re reminded of this truth in Psalm 46:10. “Be still, and know that I am God.”

In a culture of endless hustle and bustle. With 24-hour cable news being piped into our homes. With music blaring everywhere. With the sound of traffic and horns beeping. Cell phones ringing. Children yelling. And endless chatter all around us. Silence becomes a sweet respite.

This verse reminds us there is a time to tune out the noise and tune in to God. We all need periods of sanctified silence.

Writing these blog posts in the early morning darkness with a cup of hot coffee has become a cherished blessing. It just me. And God.

Let me encourage you to find your time and place of sanctified silence.

Be still, and think.

Be still, and meditate.

Be still, and read.

Be still, and pray.

Be still, and dream.

Be still, and plan.

Be still, and enjoy nature.

Be still, and marvel at a sunset.

Be still, and visualize Jesus on the cross during communion.

Be still, and see God.

Sanctified silence. I recommend it.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman