The Silence of the Season

By Bill Brandstatter

    One of the things I noticed most about the season that has just past is the silence. After the hustle and bustle of the shopping season, there is a great silence on day one of the new year. I often drive around town and look at stores closed and parking lots empty on Christmas Day. The silence is deafening.  One day a year everything stops for a while. Have you ever thought about silence regarding our approach to God? The Bible says, “Be still and know…” (Ps. 46:10)
    Be still and know that God exists. I was talking to a man at a recent Bible study and he told me how he really likes mornings. He said it was the time he took to pray and reflect on the things God has made. I am reminded of what Jeremiah wrote in the book of Lamentations: “Through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (3:22, 23) In the 19th Psalm, David indicates to us that nature tells us of the wonder and beauty of God. (Psa. 19:1-4)
    Be still and know that God loves you. Sometimes we are so busy with our lives we forget one of the most important aspects of our lives…that is, that God loves us. We really don’t understand the love of God like we should. We often equate love with a feeling or a desire; but love is more than that. God’s love transcends both. Jesus stated that God “so loved the world…” (John 3:16). He demonstrated His love for us (Rom. 5:8). That love should be what compels and motivates us in all that we do in life. (Rom. 5:8)
    Be still and know that God can forgive us. This past year we might have messed up. Maybe we did some things we shouldn’t have. Perhaps we got into situations that resulted in problems in our lives. It could be that we were involved is some event that we should have avoided. God can forgive us if we seek and obey Him.  Jesus shed His blood so that our sins could be forgiven. (Mt. 26:28) We contact that blood when we are baptized into Christ. (Rom. 6:3) After that, through repentance, confession and prayer we can continually have our sins forgiven. (Acts 8:32; 1 John 1:9) God forgives us and we can rest assured His forgiveness is complete and thorough.
    In the hustle and bustle of our lives we need to stop and have some quiet time with God. Be still and know and see the great things about God that often get overlook in our chaotic lives.

- Bill Brandstatter preaches for the Marion Church of Christ in Marion, IL. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://marionchurchofchrist.com/