I was driving home the other day and I was thinking. As a pastor, there is no shortage of things to think about. I was speaking that week so I had my message on my mind. I had to-do’s – tasks, assignments and challenges to complete. People situations flooded my thoughts. Add family, friends and others to the mix. Noise doesn’t have to be loud, it just has to make you notice it. And I had a lot of noise vying for my attention. I clicked off the music, rolled up the windows and drove in silence.

And listened…and it came…the sound of silence.

We live in an age where silence is not comfortable. Even when I get up at 4 am, I still hear the hum of the refridgerator, our 67mph paper guy and the sprinklers going. I encourage you to find times of silence…because silence is loud. We all need time to pull away from the noise and hear what we really think. But silence is uncomfortable because we feel like we should fill it with something. We like distractions…I know I do. I feel lazy just sitting and thinking when I could be out doing something or experiencing something new.

In finding those pockets of quiet, you will experience something new. New thoughts, ideas, images and peace will begin to flow through your mind. These times are important to keep all the other aspects of your life in balance. In Ecclesiastes 3:7 (NLT) it says, “A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.” Those times of quiet allow us the times of speaking to be refreshed, thought out and powerful.

Final question…when is the last time you took 15 minutes (1/96th of your day) and sat quietly? Try it out…the silence will be loud!