“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11
This verse always stops me--grips me hard. It’s counter cultural in our lives that thrive on noise and hustle. Work to achieve quiet in a world that screams the opposite--in a world where ambition for all the things prevails. If we look at the context of the verse, it’s about living to please God--in a way that is holy and shows love to others and wins the respect of outsiders for the Lord. It’s about living in such a way that we can hear the voice of God--full-mouthed.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” Quiet is where God works. And slow is how God works--through long-suffering desert wilderness, global pandemics, and quarantines.
This verse always stops me--grips me hard. It’s counter cultural in our lives that thrive on noise and hustle. Work to achieve quiet in a world that screams the opposite--in a world where ambition for all the things prevails. If we look at the context of the verse, it’s about living to please God--in a way that is holy and shows love to others and wins the respect of outsiders for the Lord. It’s about living in such a way that we can hear the voice of God--full-mouthed. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” Quiet is where God works. And slow is how God works--through long-suffering desert wilderness, global pandemics, and quarantines.
History has never seen such. Everyone across the planet is experiencing this same struggle, this strange aberration. Together--and yet apart--we’re learning a new way of life in which we’ve been forced to slow down and become quiet.
I’ve watched online as people have pulled in and become intentional with their families, a new normal opening and unfolding like the petals of a flower. I’ve seen neighbors offering messages of hope in sidewalk chalk and window clings. I’ve seen health care workers risk their own health and brave the unknown. And I’ve seen everyone become a lot more comfortable with going nowhere. We’re getting past the awkward silence, the need for speed.
I’ve also seen people panic, scurry mad for waste paper that will disintegrate. In grocery stores across the nation, we shop with masks and gloves. Rightly so, we are diligent about washing our hands and covering our coughs--to prevent the spread of a virus that has us living in fear. Death is scary. But where was that fear for the germ of sin that brings an even worse death? Why were we not washing our hearts in the cure--truth of God’s word--just as diligently?
These past few weeks, I’ve seen an attuning to God, who is not the author of these terrible deaths but rather of life and of everything good. Still, He allows tragedies like this to go on. I’ve heard pastors speak of what He may be doing, perhaps silencing the gods of this culture--the gods of sports, entertainment, education, fitness, finance, travel. He can and will shut down all of these voices to get our stubborn attention. In fact, sometimes it takes a pandemic for us stiff-necked people to listen to Him.
Our house has been different the past couple of weeks since the quiet. In fact, God used quiet a few years back to get my attention--to break me in reverence to Him and His word and to build me back up in tender nearness to and solace with Him. And this year I’d made the goal of broadening that circle of regular communion with God through His word to include my husband and my kids. My intentions were good but sporadic at best. Well, now we have nothing but time. Time to read His word. Funny how God answers prayers. The past couple of weeks we’ve been reading through the book of Acts together, finding a new rhythm. Moving past something that feels forced and carving out patterns that now feel familiar to the touch. We’re doing family workouts and playing card games, pulling out things we’ve stored up but not touched. Making use of what we have versus what we want.
We’re cleaning out closets and cabinets, and God is cleaning out our souls. What will He find? In my soul? In yours? Lord, may You find repentance for the ways we have let our lives drive You out. Remorse for our earthy appetites. May You find contrite hearts for our deaf ears. May we hear You and of Your Love for us. But also Your sound warning and the gravity of both a life apart from You or a life falsely cloaked with You but chasing the dream. May you find sorrow for spiritual opportunities squandered. May our souls open up in gratitude for fresh perspective--open eyes and open ears. Thankfulness for the things and people we already have. Lord, may we stay present with You and move forward with an awakening.
