Rebuking the Noise
How do we stop the noise?
Verse of the Day
‘When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.’
Today’s Devotional
I watched a video recently of a friend who was trying to get something done and her young child was climbing all over her. He was messing with her hair and brushing her hair over her eyes with his hand. While the video was funny, it reminded me of my own need to put a stop to the noise of the world in order to spend time alone with God. Sometimes the messages of this world and my own mind are the equivalent of my friend’s young child.
In today’s verse, we see Jesus rebuking a storm. He was in a boat with the disciples when a storm came upon them. Jesus, however, was asleep when the storm began. When He awoke, we rebuked the wind and waves, and then all was calm. What if we need to rebuke the storms in our lives? What if our practice of silence and solitude is similar to Jesus’s words to the storm?
Sometimes we just need to stop. Breathe. Turn off the TV. Put down our phones. Force our minds to be still before God. Recite God’s promises, His character, His Word. These actions can rebuke the noise and calm the storms of our lives.
This week we looked at solitude through the lens of seeking God for His peace and joy. Here’s a reminder:
- How do we plant the seeds of peace? We remember who we are in Jesus’s eyes, and where our peace actually comes from. It’s not ours to sow. So the closer we stay to the Prince of Peace, the more peace He will be able to sow. We remember Who is in control. We choose to be useful to others. We choose to keep our opinions to ourselves. We choose to see every other human on this planet as a beloved creation made by the Almighty God. We treat others the way we would like to be treated. We remember that we am not capable of doing any of those things without God’s help.
- Choosing to practice solitude is one of the ways we can experience God’s delight in us. How can we hear the songs He is singing over us if we never quiet the noise around us?
- Trusting in God’s sovereign control will give us freedom. And that kind of freedom brings joy. Lots of joy. The kind of joy where we can take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the journey – knowing that whatever happens along the journey is orchestrated by our Shepherd and is for our good.
- If God is our source of hope, then we can rest in what He says about us in his Word. We can also learn to have more wisdom, love and acceptance of others when we spend more time with Him and listen for His direction in each situation. These are some of the many benefits of practicing solitude. The more we trust, the more peace and joy we will have in our life. Happiness is fleeting and circumstantial. The joy of the Lord is eternal. He can fill us completely with His joy today as we sit at His feet in silence.
- There are benefits to having a rightly-prioritized, God-focused life. The first one is that the struggles of this world do not shake our faith and trust in God. Bad things are going to happen. Hopefully those things drive us to our knees and remind us Who to trust. God must be on the throne of our heart in order for us to have joy. As we spend time in solitude, we will solidify God’s position on the throne of our heart.
- At some point in our spiritual journey, God gives us spiritual eyes. Even though we cannot actually see God, we can see when someone acts in a loving way. Then our spiritual eyes allow us to make a connection. And we can feel God’s love expressed through the actions of another. The more time we spend with God, the better our spiritual eyesight gets.
We have a choice. We can live in the storm, or we can rebuke the storm and choose to be still and know that He is God. What do you choose?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What is the current source of “noise” or “storm” in your life?
How can you rebuke that today?
What would calmness in that area mean to you?
How can you be still before God today?