Waiting in Silence

Scripture — Psalm 62:5-8

For God alone my soul waits in silence,
     for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
     my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
     my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
     pour out your heart before him;
     God is a refuge for us. Selah

Devotion

Several well-known Christmas carols emphasize silence. You might think of “Let all mortal flesh keep silence and with fear and trembling stand.” Then there’s verse 3 of “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” which begins, “How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.” Of course, we have the all-time favorite, “Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright round yon virgin mother and child.”

We can debate whether this assumption of silence in the birthplace of Jesus makes logical sense or not. After all, babies generally cry and animals can be noisy too. Additionally, the angels who appeared to nearby shepherds made plenty of noise. So it’s not as if silence pervades the Christmas story. But, nevertheless, we like to sing of the silence we associate with Jesus’s birth.

Ironically, singing is part of what makes the weeks prior to Christmas so un-silent. During this time of year, the time Christians call Advent, we are inundated with noise in the form of Christmas carols blaring in malls, restaurants, grocery stores, and even our personal music devices. I listen to much more music in the month of December than in any other month of the year. It is surely the most un-silent month for me.

I’m not complaining about this, mind you. I love Christmas music, from the classic choruses of Händel’s Messiah to the joyful frivolity of Sara Groves’s song, “Toy Packaging.” I do get a little tired of the soundtracks playing in big box stores, however. How often do I need to hear “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”? But giant stores aren’t exactly bastions of holy silence, no matter the music they’re streaming.

Besides, let’s face it, apart from Christmas carols and their themes of silence, Christmas is mainly a time for joyful noisemaking. Frankly, that’s just fine with me. Advent, however, offers a different kind of experience, a different ethos altogether. Advent invites us into silence, especially as we wait for the Lord.

Perhaps no verse in the Bible models an Advent-like stillness more than Psalm 62:5. That verse reads, “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.” There we have two of the most important Advent themes, waiting and hoping, combined with silence. From the verses that follow verse 5, we understand that the psalm writer is able to wait in silence because of the utter reliability, strength, protection, and salvation of God: “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God” (Psalm 62:6-7). When we lean back into God’s faithful presence, when we receive God’s gracious help, when we hide in God’s protective care, then we can enter into deep, trusting silence.

That is profoundly and wonderfully true. But, ironically, it’s not the whole story. Consider what comes next in Psalm 62: “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” (62:8). Now, given what we read about waiting in silence only three verses earlier, we might well expect verse 8 to say, “Trust in him at all times, O people; quiet your heart before him.” But that’s not what it says! Rather, along with waiting in silence for God there are also times when we can pour out to God everything inside of us: every sorrow and every joy, every boldness and every fear, every gratitude and every yearning.

Advent is surely a time when silence is welcome and warranted. For those of us who usually live noisy lives, no matter the month, Advent invites us into a time of quiet reflection, wonder, and hope. It’s a time to remember just how amazing God is and to lean hard into God’s faithfulness. Advent is a season to renew our trust in God. And in that trust we can quiet our hearts.

But Advent can also be a time to tell God everything we need to say, to open our hearts, to pour out our longings, our disappointments, our hopes, our fears, our dreams, and our thanks. No matter what we are doing, no matter whether we are loud or silent, the truth remains: God is a refuge for us.

Banner image by Mario Mendez on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Waiting for God.

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