The Gift of Quiet in a Chaotic World

“I am convinced that the ear, on its own, is the essentials as it is the door that leads to the essence of all things, to the Being just as it also represents its opening to the world through the body. - Dr. Alfred Tomatis

17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son,[a] with whom I am well pleased.” Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

- Matthew 3:17-4:1

The wilderness isn’t a place of weakness, it’s a place of strength.

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

- Mark 1:35

Times of busyness requires more quiet time with God, not less.

And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

- Mark 6:31

“Internal noise is the running commentary in our heads on everything. The replaying of a lousy conversation with a friend over and over again. Our lustful thoughts for the girl or guy down the street. Our fantasies. And not just sexual; our revenge fantasies - imagining saying this or doing that to our enemies of choice. Our worry - the chipping away at our joy and peace with the hammer of ‘what if?’ The obsessing over hypothetical scenarios, role-playing the future, catastrophizing. Idealizing. Dreaming of the perfect life, which in turn poisons our actual lives.” - John Mark Comer, Pastor & Author

Symptoms of not prioritizing time with God:

• Distance from God

• Distance from yourself

• Anxiousness about hypothetical situations or the future

• Feeling exhausted

• Feeling the need to escape reality

• Living on edge; Having a short fuse

Four practical steps to enter into silence and solitude:

1. Find your eremos (a dedicated, quiet place).

2. Take your time.

3. Face the good, bad, and ugly in your own heart. Allow God to deal with those things.

4. Embrace the silence.

More important than talking to God is listening to Him.

Be still and know that I am God…

- Psalm 46:10

Where is God?

God can feel distant.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

- Matthew 1:1

• We do bad things.

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

- Matthew 1:2-6

• Bad things happen in the world.

11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

- Matthew 1:11

• Bad things happen in our lives.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

- Matthew 1:18-19

God is on His throne.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place… 

- Matthew 1:18

God wants to be with us.

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

- Matthew 1:20-22

We can walk with God even when we don’t feel like it.

24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him…

- Matthew 1:24

We’ll be able to look back and see what God has done.

Above and Beyond

17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.

- Luke 5:17-26

Obstacles will get in our way when we try to pursue God.

Some obstacles are:

1. Inconvenient

2. Irritating

3. Impossible

These obstacles can overwhelm our desire to experience God’s presence.

Jesus went above and beyond to make Himself available to us.

Find a way around the obstacles and beyond the barriers in faith.

God will leave us in awe.