Ep. 37 - Be Quiet!: The Importance of Stillness
In this month's episode, we discuss the importance of stillness in our lives. We live in a society that idolizes the hustle culture. What if God is trying to speak to us, but our music is too loud?
Intro
Welcome to The Message Podcast with yours truly, Angel. This month’s episode is called “Be Quiet!” and we’re going to be talking about the importance in turning down the noise around us, so that we can allow God to speak to us more clearly in our lives. We’ll be going over the importance of allowing those moments of quietness, and how the enemy will actually use distractions to keep us from being in the presence of God. I’ll also give you guys some tips from personal experience, that may help you find more quiet time during the day.
It is November of 2023 and I pray that all is well on your end! I cannot believe we only have a month left in the year. Feels like last week it was warm and now I’m leaving for work with a jacket on every morning, kicking myself that I forgot to remote start my car so it would be warm by the time I got in. What can you do? I’m still not used to the chilly weather, although it is beautiful with the leaves changing colors.
Overall I have to say things have been amazing! Back in September I had a chance to perform a spoken word piece out at The River Church of God in Danbury, Connecticut and it was such a blessing! Always love to perform and glorify the name of God. The piece was a take on if I could rap battle Satan, what would I say. I as well as my brothers in Christ that performed that night as well, shout out to Frii and Rudy, ended up on Rapzilla.com which is insane! Rapzilla is one of the biggest websites that covers Christian Hip-Hop and was honored to be on there so shout out to them! I was also recently interviewed for Newsday for their Faces of Long Island series, where they cover people from Long Island, NY that are making a positive impact in their community. To be a part of that is an huge blessing and a testament that God honors those who honor Him. I’ll be sure to leave a link to both articles on my Instagram as well as on my website. If it possible on Apple Podcasts, I’ll be sure to leave it there for you to check out if you’d like.
As you can see, I’ve been pretty busy! Dropped a music video back in August for my birthday as well and I feel like there’s so much more that I want to do! Being busy is something I always try to be. However recently, I read a book by Jefferson Bethke called “To Hell with The Hustle” that helped reminded me once again of the importance of stillness. Stillness I sometimes forget, is a blessing. Something to be pursued. Life can be very noisy, and if we let it, will pull us away from communion with God.
Busyness Isn’t Always Good
I always prided myself in being busy. From the outside looking in, people would see performances, and music being released, and wondering how I’ve been able to do it, when in reality I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface. I would be obsessed with filling my calendar app with different tasks for the day. Each with a different color specific to what it was for. The problem was, I would sometimes get upset when I was either behind on my schedule for the day, or just not able to do a task because something unexpected came up. That was the beginning of me looking at this busyness thing at another lens. Is filling almost every hour on my schedule, with almost no time for quietness, something to strive for?
Today, we live in a culture that idolizes the hustle culture. I’m from New York, and so I at times see that at its absolute worst. Especially on the commute to and from work. I mean, no one knows how to use their turn signal anymore, and can barely stay on a single lane for more than thirty seconds before having to switch to the next lane, so they can cut someone off. And for what? To get somewhere only 2 minutes before the next person?
This next example isn’t as bad, but it’s a memory that really showed the definition of hustle culture. Years ago, I remember going to school in the city for insurance, and being astonished that despite how busy things were, despite how many people were on the sidewalk at the same time, you might as well not exist. It’s not that anyone was rude per se, but rather that literally everyone besides tourists, were hustling to go somewhere. Their focus was always past you, whether it be for the next train, or the next sip of their Starbucks coffee. They were always hustling. Side note: I love Starbucks coffee.
No don’t get me wrong. I’m not here saying being lazy is the way to go, cause it’s not. I’m not saying being focussed and productive is a negative trait. I even in Episode 31 of this podcast, talked about how laziness isn’t a godly trait.
In the Book of Proverbs, Chapter 13 Verse 4 it says:
'The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.'
What I’m saying is, maybe some of us need to more mindful of how busy and distracted we’re allowing ourselves to be. Some of us can’t bare to drive in our car without music or a podcast playing. If the radio stops working in our car, we go nuts. The drive becomes boring and makes our commutes that much longer for some of us. Some of us can’t even go to the bathroom anymore without bringing our phones with us. We can’t bare to sit in a bathroom alone in silence. Forget that! Most of us would rather sit on the toilet and scroll on Tik Tok. And if you’re a 90’s baby or older, you remember the good ole’ days where we would sit and read the back of a shampoo bottle.
Why is that? In my personal experience, even my little break time when I would come home from work, would almost completely lack any quiet time. The only exception being my prayer and Bible Study time. But are we allowing there to be moments in our days for complete silence? What if God is trying to speak to us, but our music is too loud?
The Devil Loves Distractions
In the NLT translation, in 1 Kings 19:11-12 it reads,
'“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. '
First it was a windstorm, then there was an earthquake, and then a fire and yet, it was a gentle whisper that God spoke in. In the New King James Version it’s a still small voice. God chose to gently whisper to Elijah here. You see God respect us. Just as He respected Adam and Eve’s decision to exercise their free will by disobeying Him, despite the consequences that would follow. Same He is with us. God wants us to actively seek Him. God wants us to turn down the noise, and only be focussed on Him. But we can’t do that if we’re allowing noise and busyness to be around us every second. We need stillness in our day. We need time where we’re not doing anything besides being quiet, and allowing the Lord to speak to our current condition.
And that’s why I believe The Devil loves the hustle culture that’s so prominent today. It makes us self-centered at times. There are some people that are unknowingly making themselves God. Everything is about them. Their goals. Their ladder to climb at work. What room are they leaving for God to speak? You see the busier we make ourselves, the harder it’ll be to give enough time to God. I mean, how many of us follow some sort of motivational Instagram page or Tim Tok account, that posts nothing but content relating to hustling and being as busy as possible? Again I want to reiterate, busy isn’t bad, but it’s like these pages at times make us feel guilty, if we’re allowing any quiet time in our day. They make us feel lazy and unproductive. Why sit and have quiet time when there is work to be done? I mean let me ask you, how many of us are following Instagram pages, that actually encourage stillness in our day? Hardly any I’d say.
Tips to Finding Stillness
This is why it’s so key to fight back. Fight back against the norms of society today. Do not allow yourself to feel guilty in allowing yourself some quiet time. Quiet time can actually be productive if you’re looking for the Lord to speak to you. So what are ways we can add some stillness in our day? How can ease our minds from all the constant mental stimulation of life around us?
Well my first tip is, start your day in the presence of God. Give yourself some extra time in the morning when everything is still nice and quiet, to just sit in His presence. Even if that means setting your alarm to go off a little earlier in the morning, it’s the best way to set the tone for the rest of your day. Putting on the armor of God, will allow you to withstand the enemy’s attacks and distractions.
Mark 1:35 says,
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”
This verse here is describing Jesus. A long while before daylight meaning, before the busyness of the day. Solitary meaning He was by Himself, away from everything else. What an incredible example Jesus left us on how to approach God. It is when we put our complete focus and attention to God, lowering the noise around us, that we can hear that gentle whisper in our lives.
If you’re not a morning person or in a rush for whatever reason, no judgment. Another tip I can give you is during your commute to work. Most of us drive with music or maybe a podcast playing. How long is your commute to work? 15 minutes? 30? An hour? What if that drive was in silence? I’m saying every drive is in complete silence, because I do enjoy music playing. But if you’re struggling to fit in moments of completely stillness, it’s worth considering. Some of my most powerful moments with God have been in the car. Mindlessly driving somewhere while in prayer. I’ve heard the Holy Spirit tugging at things in my heart. To pray for a certain someone. To convict me of something. God in those moments has spoken to me in powerful ways, just by driving home with nothing playing while asking God to speak to my current condition.
The last tip I can give you is, cut down the distractions. If you play video games or watch Netflix, or go on YouTube, be mindful of how much of your precious time is going into that. There may be simple fixes into where we’re spending our time in, that’ll make the world of a difference in adding more stillness in our life. Maybe don’t go on Tik-Tok for an hour before bed. Think about how incredible that time would be if we would allow the Holy Spirit in speak to us. Maybe shorten the video games from 1 hour to a half hour, and use that other half hour to be still. We make time for what is important to us, and there is nothing more important than being in the presence of God. It’s not easy, especially in society today, but we can do it. God will be there to help us always.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I want you give you honor and praise at this very moment. Thank you for being our God. Thank you for your love for us. Thank you that you love us so much that despite our shortcomings, you never give up on us. You’re always trying to speak to us, even when we’re don’t always listen. You are such an amazing God. The Creator of the entire universe and yet, you want to be our friend. Our counselor. Our provider. Who we trust with all of our heart, and all of our soul. Lord you deserve it all. Father God I want to lift up in prayer to whoever is listening at this moment. I thank you for their life. I thank you for what you have planned for them. Lord you know we live in a world today that is filled with distractions at every corner. Some of us can be so focussed on the hustle, that we forget that stillness is a blessing. Stillness is when we can hear your gentle whisper. Father God I ask you for forgiveness in falling short in that area. Forgive us if we pray, and don’t sit in that stillness, to hear from you. Forgive us for putting other things above you Lord. I ask you at this moment Lord, to help us fight back. Help us to fight and set aside time to be still at your feet. Help us to tune out the noises of life, and to be able to hear you louder than ever in our lives. Give us the strength to be disciplined enough to create healthy habits in our time, so that we may grow in this walk with you Lord. I thank you God, and in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Outro
Well that concludes this month’s’ podcast episode! Thank you so much for tuning in! I hope this episode was able to encourage you to be more mindful of where your attention is. God is always speaking, but we’re not always listening. It’s important to allow God the opportunity to speak to us, while none of us are perfect in this area, we serve a God is who is patient and graceful. He believes in you, and so do I!
It would mean the world if you would leave me a review on Apple Podcasts as it helps the podcast grow in the rankings which increases visibility. Even sharing it with a friend who you think could use some encouragement, would be such an honor. If you want to reach out to me, I can be reached on my website, mynameisangel.com, or on social media at @themessagepodcast. God bless you and thank you once again for tuning in. Until next time, this has been The Message.
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