We live in a loud, crazy, world with thousands of advertising messages constantly hitting every communication tool we own. During the holiday season, we either jump on a freeway of activity or make a choice to embrace the meaning of “Silent Night”.
“Confidence is silent and insecurities are loud” is a quote that rolled across my news feed this week. In the midst of all the ads, promotions and snap chat videos, I seek to find a nugget to think on throughout the week. When you pause to think of all the “silent” moments in your life, we are challenged to search for meaning and understanding. I remember as a child asking my father if I could go various places when I had received an invitation. Most of the time, he would not answer me right away. It was as if he was totally ignoring me. My mother encouraged me by saying “if your father responded immediately, you would never go anywhere”. Today as a parent, I am constantly weighing the pros and cons to respond in the best interest of my son. Although it is frustrating to wait for an answer, I now understand in our silence, we are gaining confidence as we approach the throne of grace with our prayers and requests.
While all the hustle and bustle multiply at increasing speeds, I look for ways to enjoy the “silent” moments. One of my favorite things to do is go to the Messiah presented by the Craven Messiah Chorus at Centenary Methodist Church in New Bern. It feels as though the world stops when I am sitting in that majestic sanctuary listening to Handel’s Messiah. All the to do lists simply fade into the background of my life, and I listen to the words as they paint a picture of the first Silent Night.
Insecurities are LOUD! Have you noticed that you tend to listen for the silence when you are bombarded with noise? Our culture has allowed the freedom of speech to be so loud, we are becoming numb to the messages. Think of the LOUD moments in your life. Do most of them come with peace, love and understanding? I looked up the definition of LOUD. It means noisy, blaring, booming, deafening, roaring, thunderous, thundering, ear-splitting, or ear-piercing. When I read that list of synonyms, I want to grab my hearing protection. Doesn’t sound like an effective way to share a message, does it?
This past Sunday began a time of preparation in the church called Advent. Preparing our hearts to receive the greatest message of our time. Throughout the world, Christmas will be celebrated in many ways because a message of love and forgiveness was shared one “silent night” over 2000 years ago. God was confident that a message delivered in a humble, quiet beginning would capture the hearts of those seeking to understand the mystery.
In this season of preparation, seek to understand instead of seeking to be understood. You will experience great confidence as you approach the throne of grace and all of those LOUD insecurities will fade away into the darkness.
Until next Friday. . .
