Can you pass a day in silence?
Our world is full of distractions. It has been called the “Interruption Market.” And worse, the desperation of the world to interrupt you with advertising is becoming worse—
–because we are getting better and better at turning the interruptions off. Ignoring them. Avoiding them. Isolating ourselves from them.
Hone your skills in this area. The more interruptions you turn off, and the more silence you encourage, the more space you have in which to listen to God and to think.
Really: is it critical to know, as it is breaking, about tornadoes or fires or hurricanes? (Unless you live where those disasters are occurring.) Or about the latest political poll? Or the latest sports scores?
Really: is it important to receive an email exactly when it is sent?
For most of us, the answer is no. These kinds of events are interruptions in your day. They stop you from doing the important work.
We’ve gotten very good at cutting ourselves off from advertising interruptions. Now, perhaps, we need to get very good at cutting ourselves off—for large periods of a given day—from anything that is not related to the vision we are working on.
In case you’re wondering: it’s Biblical. Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to speak, and a time to be silent (3:7). What are the times in your day for silence?
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yes! yes! David Bryant once gave a message on the strategy of silence as it relates to missions.