Gen Z Speaks: Peace in the Silence

Welcome to Peniel CrossRoads, where we embrace Jesus’s heart and together live out the call to biblical unity!

My name is Kathryn and I struggle with silence. As a kid, I was always busy between school, friends, sports, and homework. The only time I would check in with God was Sunday service and youth group on Wednesday nights. Then I went to college. I once again filled my schedule to the brim with activities, classes, friends, and a job or two. I kept myself busy to fill in the silence as I felt unnerved by it. We stay busy all the time in order to fill our days and to feel accomplished. Often, we are ridiculed if we do not look busy to others.

I do not only mean being busy either, but the literal silence as well. I find that many people today are unnerved by silence. I always have something playing in the background to fill the silence, whether it is music or the TV. In conversations, I am often filling in the silence if it goes for more than a few seconds. Silence is something I run away from constantly, and I am sure many of us do too.

However, fear of silence makes it difficult to hear God. God comes when we listen to Him, we feel His presence, feel His warmth; it is like He is in the room with us. Yet we so often fill the silence with noise, blanket the silence with distractions that we end up talking over God. I am learning that to hear God fully and to feel His presence, I must learn to be okay resting in the silence, to be still and know that it is not something to run from or feel ashamed of doing.

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah was secluded—alone—in the wilderness, running for his life. He was discouraged, saddened, even depressed, some might say. Though we may call him a mighty man of prayer today, at the time Elijah felt himself unraveling from distress over his situation. He had just proven God’s existence and power to worshippers of Baal, yet he was being hunted down for exposing the lie of Baal to the community. He prayed for death. He was so discouraged and defeated, but God called him to listen.

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of

the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered

the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the

earthquake.

12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out

and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings

19:11-13)

Despite the madness that was going on in Elijah’s life at that moment, God called him to be still and silent to hear Him. How often do we do that when we are in a messy situation, or when life becomes overwhelmingly busy for us? When I don’t, it takes a toll on me; I am left exhausted, longing for rest and peace.

Silence is not the scary pause from a suspenseful movie. Silence is not the other shoe about to drop. It is not always the silence before a storm either. Some of us have long since started to associate silence with bad things about to happen, that we have forgotten that God is in the silence with us. This is something I am working on, to overcome my fear of the silence and instead, to embrace it and be still in it. Silence is not horrible; we see silence from God for 400 years between the Old Testament and New Testament. After that silence came a deliverer named Jesus, who brought us salvation and direct connection to God once again. God works behind the scenes—in the silence, in the details many of us overlook.

When you feel yourself uneasy in a time period or a season of silence, don’t jump in to fill the silence. Follow the example of Elijah; go and sit in the silence. Embrace it and listen for the gentle whisper of God to come to you and be obedient.

~by Kathryn West

Abba Father, I desire to know You in the stillness. I believe you have more for me as I sit with you. Calm my restless spirit, so I may enter into spiritual communion with You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

COMING UP: We will continue to hear from young people who have not “bowed a knee” to the spirit of this world. We look forward to how God will speak through them!