Have I spent most of my adult life hating silence?But I didn’t know. I was a great blind spot, I ignored my constant desire to be with people simply by being extroverted and attributed my talking nature to my intense relational instincts. These qualities seemed to help me in my pastoral interactions with people, so I didn’t think about it, didn’t they before I started my own journey?For the meeting? During a personal crisis in which I faced this long-standing disappointment.
My counselor has observed in my life a behavior that has gone unnoticed for the most part, but it has become a sign of concern for him, he realized that I was running away from being alone, he also noticed that I was uncomfortable with silence and that I did not know what to do with it, he lived the way, I often dominated conversations with my lines , this revealed my terrible listening skills, which the counselor had the wisdom to link to the problems of silence. pressure me in that area and it was difficult. In fact, this led to an implosion of my soul, but began a desperately necessary healing process.
- It is through this journey that I have learned that if my emotions are the gateway to my soul.
- Then it is silence that exposes the soul.
- She was not prepared to face the ugly things that had been exposed.
- But God.
- In her wonderful grace.
- Found me in a gentle and powerful way and initiated a healing process that brought coherent peace to my soul.
- It is through silence in a quiet place.
- Meditating on truth and prayer for the Lord’s help that I have experienced this deeper.
- Level of God’s grace and presence in my soul is in this very place that every pastor must expose himself and reach out.
- With the power of God’s grace for us.
- To deeply experience his love and.
- Therefore.
- To have a long ministry.
This silence that I defend in the life of the pastor is not a form of secular meditation, but a biblical silence and a solitude, Don Whitney considers it an important spiritual discipline in the Christian life, it is a stillness that allows us to be more aware of the activity . of our soul, while the Holy Spirit lives and works in us. It is a discipline by which we communicate with Jesus, becoming more aware of his truth and presence, and more receptive to his infinite grace. Puritan scholar Joel Beeke explains the type of meditation that promotes this experience:
Puritan meditation engages the mind with God’s revealed truth to ignite the heart of affection for God and transform life into obedience. Thomas Hooker put it this way: “Meditation is a serious intention of the mind, through which we come to seek the truth and effectively establish it in the heart. “The direction of our mind reveals the true love of our hearts, which is why Hooker said that those who love the Word of God regularly meditate on it (Psalm 119:97). Therefore, puritanical meditation is not repeating a sound, emptying the mind or imagining physical visions and sensations, but a concentrated exercise of thought and faith in the Word of God.
God commands us to remain silent and know that he is God (Salt 46:10). The Psalmist reminds us that our souls must remain silent and wait only for God (Psalm 62:1-5). Jesus regularly retreated to a secluded place, praying and shutting up (M. 1. 35; Lk 5. 16; Mt 14. 13). Silence and loneliness are a biblical discipline of the Christian life that every Christian needs. Pastors are no different.
This article seeks not only to call each pastor to discipline regular silence and loneliness in his life, but to show that it is an essential part of caring for a pastor’s soul. First, let’s look at the reasons for silence in our lives, and then move on to the practice of starting to kiss him in the midst of a busy, noisy ministry.
Most of us can agree on obvious reasons of silence, such as: we all need peace of mind, time to concentrate, alone time with God, time to pray and read the word of God, and less distraction; However, I would like to show four reasons why they are less obvious and link them more in the sense that silence is a catalyst to care for someone’s soul.
A common defense mechanism is to use occupation and noise to avoid pain in our lives, which can be unresolved sufferings and past offenses, or current suffering, in any case, noise and distraction can give the illusion that these feelings do not exist or that Silence can expose this deep pain and demonstrate its undeniable presence in our souls , is when we are calm and silent that we become more aware of our emotions, mental obsessions and physical pain that we feel and that may be related to stress and anxiety.
The voices I’m referring to are the messages we hear about ourselves, we all have them.
They are the voices of those who go through our lives, they are messages that the enemy likes to whisper in our ears, they are the interpretative messages of those who are present in our lives, when these voices are harsh, abusive and lying about our lives. courage and identity in Christ, they are unpleasant and we flee from them. Those voices haunted me. Abusive voices from my past, enemy lies and painful words of criticism created these messages of failure and self-contempt that were particularly strong when I was alone, so I fled from silence to try to escape the voices. I needed silence to confront these voices, to tell the powerful truth of the gospel against the lies I have heard and believed for so long. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addressed these voices remarkably in the context of depression:
The main problem on this whole issue of spiritual depression is, in a sense, that we allow ourselves to speak to each other rather than talk to ourselves. Am I trying to be deliberately paradoxical? This is the essence of wisdom in this area. Have you noticed that most of your misfortune in life is due to the fact that you listen to yourself instead of talking to you?
Silence allows us to face reality when we listen to each other instead of speaking to each other and thus speaking harsh and overwhelming words to our soul.
It was a problematic discovery when I realized that I had been a pastor for so long and was still a bad listener. I need to learn to listen without having to answer?Just to listen, and show empathy. When I started embracing the silence, I realized that I was also learning to listen. I started hearing sounds around me that I’ve never noticed before. I felt more receptive to the message of God’s Word. It’s amazing what happens when you’re not, worried about trying to figure out what to say or do next.
I thought I only liked people and activities. I had no idea what, the noise because my soul was tormented in silence. Silence exposes the soul and can prove how much we depend on noise to block pain in our lives. This is one of the many, reasons why we all need periods of time away from our phone, emails, social media and all the electronic devices that create the constant source of noise in our lives. Pastors don’t have to go to much effort to find noise and distraction in their lives. But silence is another matter. We have to fight for that, silence challenges us to face our pain and allow the gospel to penetrate deeply into our souls, where we find healing, but how can a shepherd begin to embrace silence to care for his soul?
During a retreat of silence, I found these words (embracing silence) in a room dedicated to silence and loneliness:
The rule of silence is seen as important here as a means of ensuring that this priceiness is not wasted, but requires a cooling-off period due to slowdown and few conversations. the source of enrichment is lost.
Although I hated silence, I gradually realized that I had to make “an explicit disposition to loneliness” for the sake of my soul. As a result, I was guided through a three-step process that not only helped me realize that I needed silence, but finally made me want to do so. This three-step process consists of daily practice, long periods of silence, and scheduled withdrawals.
First, a pastor must begin by establishing a brief daily period of silence. The Psalmist tells us to remain silent and know that the Lord is God (Psalm 46:10). The key is small but regular goals. Don’t underestimate the value of “digging” for five to ten minutes a day when you’re sitting quietly, listening to music, not on the phone, and without people talking. Sit down and take possession of silence. Be aware of God’s presence, know that he is God.
Then a shepherd must seek a longer period of silence. The Psalmist reminds us that our souls must enter into silence and wait only for God (Psalm 62:1-5). This can’t be a hasty wait, it takes time. This can be up to an hour a week, when you’re away from all the noise and people to be alone with God. As a short daily period of silence to help you stay focused during the day, the longer time is what I find most. relaxing and restorative to my soul. This usually happens in my life on Monday mornings, when I go for a run down a path away from people. After my career, I feel exclusively with God, aware of his glory in creating around me in the woods or near a pond, I remain silent and know that he is God and that I am not God (Psalm 46:10) and I only wait in God (Psalm 62:1-5).
Finally, a pastor must begin planning one or two retreats of silence each year. This is where you’ll discover how you really feel about silence. It can be a one-night trip somewhere, but not necessarily. I have planned my retreats in silence during the day when I leave early in the morning and return to dinner with my family. This quest for silence takes care of your soul in another. shows how much you need noise, people, occupation and distraction. A silent retreat during the day will expose many of them, including the things you use noise to get away from your life. the things hidden in my soul, from which I try to escape by performing the occupations of my life, every shepherd needs something that pushes him into these hidden things, pushing him to be confronted before God, and time to stop and receive his grace and forgiveness.
Jesus delivered us from the power of sin, shame, and death and saved us from the wrath of God we deserve. It’s all by grace through faith. Our identity is now in Christ and we are eternally adopted children of the true God; we have the Holy Spirit who dwells in each of us by faith, making us more and more like Jesus every day; however, many Christians are unable to deeply feel the power of God’s grace in the gospel, including pastors. It was like this for me in most of my ministry and became aware of my own soul and how to access it so that the mighty grace of the gospel may implore these deep and dark places.
Silence is a wonderful tool and a gift from God to bring this consciousness. We can only guide our people in the places we go and live personally. Accept silence as this comforting and comforting balm for your noisy and restless soul.