Perfect Peace: Choosing Calm Over Chaos a 5-Day Plan by Maya DawsonSample

The Power of Silence

The first time I tried sitting in silence, I was immediately inundated with random thoughts of what I’d forgotten to do or what I needed to do that day. Then, I found myself plagued by feelings of guilt. I felt like I was wasting precious time and could be doing something so much more productive. Next, I was faced with the personal insecurities that I had become so good at masking. You’re not good enough. You’re not smart enough. You’re not pretty enough. You’re not enough.

These thoughts alone are the reason most people avoid embracing silence. Silence unmutes the inner dialogue we have with ourselves. These inner dialogues are often discouraging and destructive. Instead of working to change the dialogue, we try to drown it out with busyness, work, family, friends, activities, social media, and entertainment. Silence reminds us that these negative thoughts and emotions are still there. In fact, we’ve been feeding them with the very vices used to try to ignore them.

I’m learning to run towards the very thing I’m afraid of in life. It’s not easy, but it immediately takes away the power of whatever has been haunting me. What does it look like to run towards silence? It looks like getting up early or staying up late. It looks like putting my phone away. It looks like turning off the television. It looks like starting with just 5 minutes and being still. It looks like laying whatever comes to mind at the feet of Jesus, Whether it’s figuring out what to cook for dinner that night, the email I forgot to send, or the fact that I’m dealing with jealousy. It looks like acknowledging whatever comes to the surface and asking for God’s help with it.

The more I lean into silence, the more I am strengthened. I can identify the lies I’ve believed for so long and begin to replace them with God’s truths about me. Silence allows God’s word to seep into my soul and water the dry, cracked places of my heart. Silence empowers me to reclaim my time and how I approach each aspect of life. Silence allows me to walk in the dominion God has given me as His daughter. The next time you feel overwhelmed by life, just say, “Shhhh.”