There is so much noise in my life that I have a hard time hearing the silence. I have four children. Each of them is capable of making their presence known in any situation. I don’t really mind noise all that much. In fact, when I am away from them and it is silent, I find that I need to turn music on in order to maintain the proper balance in my head. The reason is simply that whenever it is quiet in my house it usually means something is wrong.
There is a time each night when the house gets silent. As we sit there and relax, our eyes start to get heavy. The pace of life is so fast that it can be hard to ever really stop. This is not a complaint, this is the reality of life. So, I don’t know what it is like right now to take a nap on a Sunday afternoon. I hear it is nice. I don’t know what it feels like to sleep past 6:30 a.m. anymore. I guess it is appealing. I don’t know what my life would be like without my children making incessant noise. I know my life would not be as full as it is now.
Yet, what I find to be intriguing is how the Bible describes quiet. If there is one place I want to experience quiet it is quiet that comes from the Lord.
“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17
That is stunning, isn’t it? I certainly don’t know what quiet really is, but it says that not only does God take delight in us, but he quiets us with his love. His love is far greater than anything we experience in our own relationships. His love goes far beyond the frustrations, pains, and exhaustiong of life. It quiets us. It is where we find rest.
I can’t help be notice, though, that God doesn’t just remain quiet. There is a time for quiet and resting and then there is a time for rejoicing. As we sleep at night, there God is singing over us. He delights in us and rejoices in us. Why would the God of the Universe delight in sinful humanity? Because of His love.
I don’t know about you, but that encourages me. I find comfort in knowing that even in the midst of my chaotic life, God is with me, calling me to life in His Son Jesus Christ and taking delight in me. No, I am not perfect, but I am loved. It could be that we would all do well to stop each day and listen for the silence. It is there where we let God’s love quiet us and we are able to then hear His rejoicing over us.
No Throw Aways 
I really appreciate this post. It is good to be reminded to seek quiet in the chaos and noise of life.
It is good to be reminded of this, I agree. So much noise around, but I don’t have raccoons in my house.
I think your house may be as noisy as the throne room of Heaven, which to me sounds really noisy!
But I do love the thought of Him soothing us, quieting us, as a parent would an unsettled child, with gentle songs of grace and delight …
Yes, it is a comfort. My house is noisy for most of the day. But, right now it is really quiet. The trick is to enjoy the quiet when it is here and also enjoy the noise.
Since I am now a grandmother, my home is silent in between invasions. I love it, briefly, and then I want it to stop 🙂 I love this verse and always felt it was like the calming of a crying baby by a mother,…. , kissing the boo boo, …. It is a comforting quieting and like nothing else on earth. I often sing to my grandchildren (and children before them) at night as they go to sleep. I continue long after the eyes have closed sometimes because they can instantly awake if I stop. It’s like they can hear that somewhere in their unconscious and want it to continue. We should feel the same way about God’s singing over us…. Anyway, great post! (as usual)
I like the way you described it here. I also think that “invasion” is a good term for the grandkids visiting.