One of the rhythms of life that many (most?) of us are missing is the rhythm of silence… listening, waiting upon God.  This rhythm is found throughout the Bible.  For example, Psalm 46:10  Be still and know that I am God; Isaiah 40:31  Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; and John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

The problem is that we have so many voices in our ears; friends, celebrities, authors, singers, political pundits and ____________ (fill in the blank).  And it’s not just voices, it’s word noise; tv, facebook, ipod, text messaging and ________________ (fill in the blank).  Now honestly, everything I’ve listed, I enjoy — even texting.  That’s why silence is so rare and listening to God is so hard to do.

And yet it is so vital to our life.  You know in the gospel of John, Jesus is called The Word.  This might mean that the most important rhythm of life for the follower of Jesus is the rhythm of listening.  What time do we take to listen?  When do we spend time listening?  What can we do on a daily basis to find the silence which will enhance the rhythm of listening. 

As I come back from my sabbatical, perhaps one of my strongest convictions is that I need to develop a better rhythm of listening to the WORD of God.  How about you?