In Silence 

   When I was at sea on Navy ships I often went outside during the night and found a spot to just lie down and look at the stars.  A Navy ship is dark at night; there are no external lights allowed.  In the nearly complete darkness a vast number of stars were visible,  appearing as jewels in the sky.  The stars, the Milky Way, and all of this vast universe spoke loudly of God’s creative glory.

   Just as important as the darkness was the silence.  The only sound would usually be just the sound of the waves washing along the sides of the ships.  Not an intrusive sound but a quiet, relaxing sound.  These times brought me closer to God.

   Back in the “real world” our eyes are used to the lights of the city, and we can’t see the stars as we can in a more complete darkness.  There is also very little chance of silence except perhaps very late at night and not even then in a larger city.  There are rarely, if ever, sounds that bring quiet and relaxation, only the noise of our busy society.

   External silence is important, but even more important is internal silence.  Even in the stillness my mind sometimes runs at full speed, thoughts of many things coming and going even as I’m trying to quiet myself.  It can often be more difficult to quiet my inner self than to find silence in our noisy world.

   But it is in silence that I am strengthened in faith and love of God.  When I can shut out the world and simply be in the presence of my Lord I am reminded that this world is not my home but only an exile until I can come to my true home in His kingdom.  My greatest peace is in the silence and I come closest to God in the serenity of those quiet times.

   Jesus told His disciples to “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest.” (Mark 6: 31).  We all need to do the same from time to time; to block out the daily concerns, the noise and chaos of our world.  A time to sit in the silence and know that God is within us.