Silent to Hear

on the trail at Lisha Kill Nature Preserve
October 2016

A walk in the woods.  A trail winding down and around small hills, past a babbling brook, sunlight glinting on colored leaves, wind gently lifting pine needles and blowing them silently to the ground.

A friend of mine and I did a local hike in one of the nature preserves near our homes last week. It's so close that some people ride their bikes to it.  It's not in the mountains but there is a small hilly area in this preserve leading down to the kill (the Dutch word for creek...our capital region area of NYS was first settled by the Dutch). That hill, though is fairly significant...a great work out for the thighs!  

As we walked and took photos with our smartphones, I began to realize just how silent those woods were that day.  Even with other hikers, the air around us was just silent.  You could hear the creek a bit even though we are in a drought.  You could hear the wind stirring up the leaves and the crunch of those leaves under our feet.  Every once in awhile you could hear the subdued conversations of those other hikers.

Towards the end of the trail, after that hill, there is a bench.  Look at it in the photo above.  It's the perfect place to sit and listen to the sounds of nature all around.  Or to have a conversation. Or to rest those thighs!

One Person I have needed to have a conversation with in recent days is my Father.  My Father in heaven who sees all, knows, all, hears all.  Yes, He hears us.

I have to be intentional about being still and seeking Him.

The Bible says "Be still and know that I am God."

So often we just recite that part of Psalm 46.  But that Scripture goes on.....

When we are still.......we will know He is God.  We will begin to hear His Voice!

But we must be still.  Yes, we approach Him with thanksgiving and songs of praise on our lips.  Yes, we are to make our requests known to Him.  But then......our end of the conversation is to stop.  Be still.  Listen.  How hard is that sometimes?!?

Yet, when we do this....when we are still before Him, He will speak to us.  And in that speaking, we will know peace.  That peace that passes all of our understanding.  

And in that peace, we can know that He is for us!  He is with us!  He is our shield and strength.

And it's in that knowing, that we can conquer fears, anxieties, trials.  It might not happen all at once.  We may need to sit and drink of His Living Water for a bit. But it will happen.  It's a promise!

Be intentional about spending time with our Father.  He wants to have conversation with us, just like my friend and I had conversation on that bench. Not only did we share, but we rested.

 And it is in that resting, that Power comes.

We must be silent to hear.