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I’ve been learning to shut up.

Of course I’m writing about it. The irony doesn’t escape me… but I will attempt to be brief.

I have done a lot of journaling and talking and praying and discussing, but the last 3 months in particular I have been really pressed in my spirit to learn to be quiet.

It’s amazing what you might hear when you take a moment to really be quiet. You might hear a bird’s song that you never noticed before or a neighbor’s wind chime or a marching band on the other side of town. There could be any number of things that you would hear—many perhaps for the first time.

But let’s be honest for a moment. In our culture, we have a very strong tendency to fill every moment with sounds and images and scrolling and playing games on our many devices. When we have a moment in between things, we reflexively reach for our devices.

How often do we really just sit for a moment of quiet?

My beloved and I recently took a sabbath trip where our highest objective was to spend a lot of time in quiet and beauty and soak up some peace.

One morning we were able to watch the sunrise and have our devotional time sitting on some rocks in Colorado (Garden of the Gods to be specific). I was struck by a particular line in Psalm 62:

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”

Psalm 62.5

I took this picture to capture the moment of God gently but clearly telling me to shut up and listen.

There in the beauty of that special place, I couldn’t help but think of that statement Jesus made during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the religious leaders were insisting that Jesus shush His followers as they were shouting and singing His praises. He spoke these words that seem so strange at first glance, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Rocks crying out… seems pretty far fetched. I get that. But what if the idea of crying out in worship was not at all about the noise we make but rather making whatever noise or sound or sight or action that we were made to do in a way that honors our King?

As I sat in the crisp morning air surrounded by those stunningly beautiful rock formations, I think I finally began to learn what it meant to be quiet enough to hear the rocks.

And I will tell you… it’s worth hearing.

Shut out the noise and give it a try.