Stillness, rest, and quietness are the gateway to dreams never ending! Oddly enough, sometimes the most seemingly unproductive thing is actually the very thing we need in order to be productive. Pioneering doesn’t always look like exploring the unending possibilities, but rather setting up camp for a night and resting in the possibilities already discovered.
On this journey of pioneering my own initiative, it’s been clearer than ever that I need to rest and be still. Take time to simply enjoy life and enjoy God. Embedded within these moments are dreams and ideas that spark the passion to pack up and continue my exploration. There are unlimited ways to put this idea of rest into practice but one way that has been encouraging me in my walk has been silence and solitude.
Now, you may be asking yourself “how does this relate to missions or business” and the truth is that without rest and stillness we will experience burnout, exhaustion, stress, anxiety, and much more. As I’ve discovered what this rhythm looks like in my life— waking up early to watch the sunrise, God has blessed me with peace of mind. It’s awesome to sit still before God, hearing him speak while among his glorious creation.
This discipline is somewhat new to my daily rhythms, and with that I got to sit down with a friend and pick her brain and learn from her experience. Emma Scriven is a first year student at Valley Creek College and she’s pursuing a Bachelor’s in Christian Ministry. Emma also has implemented a personal daily rhythm of silence and solitude into her life for the past year and I wanted to learn more from her experience.
We first started the conversation with her expressing her personal heart for silence and solitude and she shared how it truly is “intimacy with God, walking with him [and] slowing down to listen and hear him.” As I asked more questions she shared how the personal rhythm she’s implemented was practiced outdoors as well. I noticed how there truly is intimacy and rest when we take time to embrace stillness AND step into God’s creation. I mean Jesus practiced this on mountains!
After hearing Scriven’s personal heart for practicing silence and solitude I was amazed that it had to do with her thought life. Similarly to my post about renewing your mind, she expressed how this discipline allows her to “use the gift of thinking deeply about deep things to glorify God.” I chose to press on this, and ask for a story where this discipline became crucial and she noted that without this rhythm or discipline making decisions, both big and small would be challenging. Scriven mentioned how during this time she would “chew on thoughts” and then act on them.
I believe that this is a word for us in all things. We must be willing to silently sit with God’s voice and chew on his thoughts and words before we act.
As we carried on, Scriven continued to tie silence and solitude to a healthy thought life. She mentioned how the book Mind Shift by Erwin Raphael McManus impacted her greatly and reshaped the way she viewed her thoughts, and without being completely derailed by the tangent of a renewed mind, I think it’s important to note once more that our thoughts lead our life. With that, taking time to be silent and pull away to be with God allows us to embrace his thoughts, so he leads our life.
Hoping back on track, as I was writing this post, I got to reflect on Scriven’s last words and they were that of Psalms 46:10, “be still and know that I am God.” What was majorly profound was that Scriven was pointing to a kingdom truth, that when we choose to embrace a dream from God and pursue it, we must do it with him. Silence and solitude is simply a means of communion and within this time we grow to understand God’s thoughts, God for ourselves and God for our area of life (business, sports, media, healthcare, etc.).
So, are you ready to slow down, listen to God and use this practice as a means of grace to PIONEER YOUR JOURNEY?
Emma Scriven, Student and Disciple of Jesus | Pslam 46 and Mindshift, amazing resources