The Sacredness of Quietude

One of the things I love about the first three months of the year is the slow pace of living. After the hustle and bustle of December, the starkness of January can hit hard. But within these first three months, I find myself resting much more. There is more time to read my Bible. There is more time to work on hobbies. And there is a sacredness of quietude. 

When I think about maintaining quietness in my life and my spirit, I reach for three books that have helped me tremendously on this topic. These books, written by three different authors, written at three different times, expound on the beauty and importance of maintaining quietness in our souls. We can either operate from a point of chaos or a point of quiet. Although I am often geared to operate from chaos, I work toward quiet. I hope these books encourage you to pursue a quiet heart. 

Elisabeth Elliot, Keep a Quiet Heart

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Elisabeth Elliot and her mountainous contributions to women believers all over the world. Her book, Keep a Quiet Heart, is a devotional with varied writings on maintaining peace and trust in God amidst difficult circumstances. In her first devotion, she writes, “Our enemy delights in disquieting us. Our Savior and Helper delights in quieting us.” What a blessed thought to meditate on. She shares Isaiah 66:13 as her reference, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” 

This promise of God provides profound rest, but will we trust Him to bring quiet to our souls, or do we rush headlong into the next situation, meeting, or phone call with a prideful desire to control the situation? I am convinced that women are often similarly tempted by a desire for control, just like our forerunner, Eve. “Did God really say…?” By staying within the boundaries that God has determined since before time, I find quiet in resting in his designs. I am not called to be the leader in my home, my husband is. I am called to be my husband’s helper and nurture my family with both strength and softness. Yes, I work outside the home, but it is still my responsibility and joy to serve my family. It is a beautiful and sacred calling that God has placed on the heart of every female believer, and when I rest in his ways, He provides peace for my soul. The days may not be easy, but his mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).

Elliot’s first devotion is where we read her famous line “The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.” If I truly believe that God is providentially in control of all things (and I do), then I believe he has placed me in the circumstances I currently face. I can choose to respond in immaturity and complain to God that it’s not fair, or I can respond like the mature Christian he calls me to be and surrender every situation to him. By choosing the second response (and I did not say it is easy to choose this response!), he provides rest and peace for my soul even though my situation may be challenging and heartbreaking. He has always been and will always be faithful. I can trust him whether the road is paved with light or darkness.

In a later devotion, Elliot shares ways that we forfeit peace. We forfeit peace when we:

Seeing the antithesis of how God calls us to live shines a light on areas we might be holding onto too tightly. I encourage you to pray through this list. Confess the sins that the Spirit illuminates. Then live as a Christian who believes God is all-sufficient in His created world. 

David B. Calhoun, A Sheep Remembers

The second book that has helped me in pursuing quietness is a small book by a missionary, minister, and professor David Calhoun. In this little volume, Calhoun recounts his life in service for God while examining Psalm 23. It is a spiritually dense and poetically rich book that will encourage and refresh your soul.

In his commentary on “I will fear no evil, for you are with me,” Calhoun writes, “Sheep are comforted by knowing that in the most dangerous and alarming places their shepherd is with them. God does not promise that we will face no evil; he promises that we need fear no evil.” Fear is often at the bottom of our desires for control. We fear for our children, our spouses, our future, and so on. The only way to combat the fear cycle is to allow God’s word to dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16). 

Calhoun later writes, “When things are going well we may be content to talk about the Lord; but when we approach the valley of the shadow of death, and the sky darkens and the thunder rolls, we hurry to speak directly to him.” What if, instead of waiting until the darkness threatens to undo us, we consistently follow God every day, where He can better prepare us for the dark times? 

In the final pages of Calhoun’s text appear multiple versifications of Psalm 23 through the centuries. I particularly appreciate Johann Sebastian Bach’s expression:

Sheep may safely graze and pasture

  In a watchful shepherd’s sight.

Those who rule, with wisdom guiding,

  Bring to hearts a peace abiding,

  Bless a land with joy made bright.

Sheep may safely graze and pasture

  Where the shepherd guards them well.

So the nation ruled in wisdom

  Knows and shares the many blessings

  Which both peace and plenty bring.

Sarah Clarkson, Reclaiming Quiet: Cultivating a Life of Holy Attention

Modern writer Sarah Clarkson grew up in a family that cultivated virtue and art. Sarah has a handful of books that help Christians on their daily faith journeys. Additionally, Sarah and her mother, Sally, have added rich contributions to the topic of Christian hospitality. Let’s focus on Sarah’s most recent publication, Reclaiming Quiet. 

Sarah writes in her first chapter, “We are asked to shape our lives, our time, our attention by habits and rhythms radically different from the windblown fury of the broken world. This means an entirely alternate shape of life, not just the subtraction of screens and distractions but the embrace of prayer, of daily wonder, of listening, of trust, of celebration that roots us moment by moment in that deep, watchful quiet that ushers us into the presence of God.” What a beautiful reminder as we begin our Lenten season! Not only are we to subtract the chaos of the world, but we are to replace it with the peace of Christ. 

One of the elements I enjoy from Sarah’s writing is the way it engages my imagination with her words. She writes in a poetic style that isn’t common among modern writers. Her imagery invokes an aesthetic that draws the reader into her text. As she writes, “Imagination asks of us a quiet space where we may attend to all that sings to us from outside the walls of time, from the deathless world in which our hearts seek roots.” Sarah is truly an artistic writer who helps me slow down and enjoy the actual process of reading. 

Conclusion

As we enter into this Lenten season, what better way to begin than by limiting distractions as much as possible to make room for more of God? By working to carve out these special moments, we will find more time for meditation on things of God that can easily pass us by in our frenzied states. 

If you are unfamiliar with these books, I encourage you to add them to your home libraries. Each author points us toward Christ and a stillness of heart and home. As always, if you decide to read any book I suggest, please let me know! I hope they are an encouragement to your soul.

Kim has been married to her college sweetheart, Jason, for 24 years and they have one son who is a high school senior. Most recently, Kim completed her Ph.D in Church Music and Worship from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She has presented at Evangelical Theological Society and The Society of Christian Scholarship in Music, and her works have appeared in The Hymn, Artistic Theologian, and Baptist History and Heritage Journal.