The streets of our six-million-person city fell silent in March of 2020. The hum of traffic ceased, the hustle and bustle of street vendors was gone. The pandemic forced us all into our apartments. Silence was a marker of the historic stopping of the world.
Some of us tried to keep the noise going. Hours on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok were logged in earnest desperation to silence the silence. This generation is not accustomed to being left alone with our own thoughts.
It took some getting used to, but I came to appreciate the slower way of life. There was beauty in long times of sitting without a rush, in seeking the Lord and finding new ways to connect with him. I found myself journaling and praying for longer, connecting to God through art, worship, and solitude more often. His voice became more familiar as I was able to stop the roar of a busy life long enough to hear it.
Now, I ache for that time. After being given permission, the world resumed its normal loudness, and the absence of time to sit and listen became more apparent. In a world full of distraction and noise, we must fight for the ability to listen to the Lord’s voice. His voice can be heard if we allow ourselves ears to listen as intended.
In 1 Kings, Elijah is waiting to hear from the Lord during a difficult time. The Lord instructs him to wait outside a cave.
“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” (1 Kings 19:11–13, NIV)
God was not in the noise. God was in the gentle whisper that came after. Elijah heard it as he waited and listened, and he knew it was God. As promised, God showed up to talk to Elijah. Imagine if Elijah had expected God to be in all the loudness before the whisper, and when it fell quiet, he distracted himself and missed it.
So how can we cultivate a life that allows for the Lord to speak to us in a whisper?
One of the most important rhythms that I’ve tried (and often failed) to implement in my life is that of sabbath. Taking time to stop every week changes the way I interact with God and the world around me.
Here are some things that either I have practiced and enjoyed and a few suggestions from others that I found:
- Figure out how God is calling you to practice sabbath. The basic idea is to rest from work. Maybe there are other things that are taking up time and energy that feel like work that you feel the need to rest from. Pray and ask God to show you what those things are.
- Set aside time. How much time? Up to you. Of course, the Sabbath has typically been a 24-hour period, but I think that can be scary and overwhelming if this isn’t something you’re already practicing. Choose a couple hours on a day that works for you where you can set aside time to sabbath. I have chosen Saturday as my sabbath day, since I help out at church so often and don’t find Sundays as easy to rest in.
- Protect that time like your life depends on it. We all know that there are a million things that might try to steal that away. Protect that time.
- Spend time doing things that are rejuvenating. On my sabbath days, I’m committed to slow mornings with God, my Bible, and coffee, taking care of the body God gave me by working out or taking an extra-long shower, enjoying fellowship with family or friends, reading a book . . . anything that is restful to me and honoring to God.
- Set yourself up for success by getting rid of temptations to work. For me, this meant turning off notifications on my phone for apps like Gmail. I never even know that I have an email until the next day, and I like it that way.
- Create a Sabbath Box. This is just a box where all the things that should not be taken into your sacred space of sabbath will go. You might include your iPad, your car keys, your phone, or your planner.
- Practice gratitude. What do you have from the week to be thankful for? I find myself thanking God most often for the cup of tea I’m drinking.
In times when it feels the most impossible to practice sabbath, I’m finding it to be the most valuable and vital thing I can do. Not only do we need a reminder that the world goes on without us just fine, but we also need to create the space for the storms and earthquakes to pass by and a gentle whisper to emerge from the ashes.
Where in your life are you creating noise rather than cultivating space for the Lord to speak? How can you practice sabbath in order to have room to listen?
