Do you ever feel uncomfortable in the quiet, especially when you’re alone?

While we may long for quiet in the midst of the constant chatter of televisions or podcasts, or the chaos of work or arguing children, what do we do with stillness, when there’s no one else in the room and we start to feel alone?

Perhaps when it’s quiet, our thoughts become louder—thoughts we don’t want running through our minds. Or maybe the stillness makes us feel that no one is there to support us or understand what we’re dealing with.

You and I can view quiet alone times as reminders of our loneliness and do everything we can to avoid them. Or, we can welcome them as a much-needed respite from the noise—as an invitation from God who has been whispering to us: Come with Me to a quiet place and get some rest (Mark 6:31).

When my husband left home for four days to climb another mountain with his friend, I realized the quiet times in the house afforded me something I had truly missed—the opportunity to spend more uninterrupted alone time with Jesus, the Lover of my soul. I relished being alone with Him and His Word on my back patio, alone with Him on a walking trail midday with no expectation by anyone of when I’d return. Alone with Him on the couch in the quiet of the evening, just me and my Lord.

Don’t misunderstand. I love to be around people. I live for the lunch date or get-together with friends. But as I grow more in love with my Lord, I long for the alone times—more and more—to commune with Him. I long for the quiet to dwell on thoughts of Him and His loving thoughts toward me (Psalm 139:17).

How often we feel we must set aside time to be with God and then feel guilty for not doing it. How often our hearts may long for a getaway with Him, not realizing that getaway is available to us every moment of the day because He indwells us and calls us to come to Him within the recesses of our hearts.

“Be still and know that I am God” says Psalm 46:10 (NIV). We can get to know Him in the stillness as we allow Him to quiet our thoughts and we begin to focus on His presence.

Psalm 46:10 in the New American Standard Bible reads: “Stop striving and know that I am God.” Having a heart at rest means we are not striving to control, not anxious or stressed about what might happen or all that we have to do. It means we are in a place of quiet contentment like David sang in Psalm 131:2: “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” (ESV).

Quiet. Full. Satisfied. Secure.

In another version, that verse reads: “I have quieted myself and caused my soul to become silent, that I might be as a child that is weaned of his mother, as one who is weaned from my own life” (JUB).

Oh, to be weaned from my own life and become fully dependent on the One who calls to me in the quiet!

Is it time to slow your pace, switch off the inner chatter, and ask God to still your mind from anxiety or busyness and flood it with His peace? Is it time to close the app, shut the lid on your device, or turn off the music or the TV, and develop a heart that not only welcomes, but longs for the quiet stillness? It’s there you will begin to discern your Savior’s voice, which is much more loving than your own internal critic. It is there you will hear His tender words: I have loved you with an everlasting love…I have drawn you with kindness (Jeremiah 31:3). It is there you will be assured of His promise to never leave you or abandon you (Hebrews 13:5). It is there, in His presence, that you will find fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).

Lord Jesus, I want to spend more focused time with You, the Lover of my soul. Help me to welcome the quiet times in my life and see them not as reminders of loneliness but as invitations to be alone with You. You are the One who pursues my heart. Calm my ambitions and my striving and help me to be like a child, content to lean against You in the quiet, and just rest.

Today’s Challenge

Embrace the quiet of your day—or escape to it by carving it out somewhere—so you can get away with God in your heart. Close your eyes. Enjoy the stillness of the moment and the assurance of His presence. Spend some time thanking Him for breathing rest –and quiet—into your day.

I just gave you a sneak peek of Day 1 of The New Loneliness Devotional: 50 Days to a Closer Connection with God. Spend the next 49 days with Him by ordering your copy on Amazon now for a Sept. 9 release, or get a signed copy now from my website store.