In the noisy generation, silence is a challenge, so it takes determination and courage to be a quiet person. Otherwise, people can't calm down and life can't slow down. Just like good tea, you should taste it slowly, and the beauty of life needs to be passed on and tasted slowly. Look at the flowers, listen to the rain, look at the stars and listen to the wind. Don't always be driven by demand and chased by time; You can't always beat and rotate like a top; It can't be like a churning sea, it can't be calm, and the water in it often gushes out filth and silt (see entry 57: 20).
Too much desire, too many things, it is difficult for you to calm down. When people are impetuous inside, their appearance will be grumpy, and grumpy people will have a big temper and a lot of grievances. Complain about this and that. Complain about the sky, people, even yourself, that you are not as good as people, that you are not smart, that you are not beautiful, and so on.
There is a prolific Christian writer in Taiwan Province Province, who wrote Brothers Love, Shake Mountains and Rivers and Livingston Biography, and went to Africa three times. One of his poems is famous, entitled Walking with Snails. His name is Zhang Wenliang.
He wrote in his poem: God gave me a task to take a snail for a walk. I can't walk too fast, the snail has tried his best to climb, always moving a little at a time … Why does God want me to take the snail for a walk? "God! Why? " The sky is quiet ... huh? I smell the flowers, so there is a garden here. I feel the breeze blowing. The wind at night is so gentle. Wait! I hear birds, I hear insects, and I see the stars in the sky with how bright. Huh? Why haven't you had these experiences before? It occurred to me that I was wrong! It turns out that God asked snails to take me for a walk.
All the good things in life follow one after another. At first, all kinds of grievances drifted away with the wind. Busy people might as well slow down, savor life slowly and have a good time.
Second, wait for your soul.
There is an Indian proverb: "Don't walk too fast, please wait for your soul."
People's "growth" is very fast, and people's "growth" is very slow. The former stresses physiology, while the latter stresses psychology. People's maturity should be that the two go hand in hand and grow together. The maturity of the mind is related to the soul and closes the soul. Here, a quiet way is essential. People are social and need to communicate with others. However, this does not mean that people can ignore the interaction between people and themselves and between people and creators. "God told a snail to take me for a walk" is a way of life and a call to life. God calls people to be alone, to be alone with God every day. Without loneliness and quiet, people may get lost in busy days, and people may live, be busy and run without soul. By being alone quietly, God frees us from external constraints and internal impulses, and clarifies our due pursuit and the true value of life. Living slowly and quietly is really a very necessary exercise.
Third, get grace in silence.
It is good for people to look to the Lord and wait silently for his salvation. (Lamentations of Jeremiah 3: 26)
The Bible mentions a family with two sisters. The elder sister's name is Martha and the younger sister's name is Mary. My sister is in a hurry because of many things; My sister listened quietly to Jesus' sermon and was scolded by her sister. Jesus saw it and said, "Martha, Martha! You worry about many things, but there is only one basic thing. Mary chose a good blessing and couldn't take it away. " (Road 10: 4 1-42)
What is good? In Jesus' view, it is a good blessing for people to yearn for the truth and be saved and affirmed by God. Busy life takes away our desire for truth and "dating time" with God.
Dating with God belongs to each other in silence and should be our daily lesson. In such a date, we are full of God's love, get God's salvation, understand God's expectations and know what we should do now. The more we listen to the voice of God, the less we will be affected by external noise. The less manipulated by other people's expectations, the more open their expectations of God are.
God's children should be quiet and wait for God's wisdom silently, and always come before God, not before people, because "God's stupidity is always smarter than people" (Cor. 1. 1: 25); God's children should wait quietly for God's salvation. God said, "Because he loves me with all his heart, I will save him;" Because he knows my name, I will put him on high. If he calls me, I will answer him; I want to be with him when he is in trouble. I will save him and respect him. I will let him live long and let him see my redemption. " (poem 9 1: 14- 16)
Fourth, bless silently.
The Bible says, "Those who listen to me will live in safety, enjoy peace and not be afraid of disasters." "Inner peace is the life of the body, and jealousy is the rotten meat in the bones." (Proud 1: 33, Proud 14: 30)
When people are quiet, their hearts are as calm as water, and when they face interests, they will have more calmness and calmness. Let nature take its course, be peaceful and relative, and there will be less unnecessary regrets in life; There is no comparison, no competition, no entanglement and jealousy. What you want to enjoy is silence and physical and mental comfort.
Work silently every day, sweat by yourself, eat by yourself, compete with others and the world, and there will be no disaster and no less trouble. Therefore, the scripture exhorts, "Be determined to be quiet, do your own thing, and work with your own hands"; "Work quietly and eat your own food." (4: 1 1 pre-post; Post 3: 12)
The above is about dealing with people in society. You should learn to be quiet and be blessed in silence. In addition, in the church, in the family, we should also know how to be quiet. The family should be orderly, and the church should not be chaotic. "Because God does not confuse people, but makes them quiet". (before forest 1. 14: 33) Everyone learns the Tao quietly, keeps the way of God and obeys each other; Women don't rule men, just be quiet; As long as a woman decorates herself with a long, gentle and quiet heart, she is extremely precious before God. (2:11-12 in advance; 1 Peter 3:4). If both men and women follow this instruction, the church and family will be less noisy and cleaner, the family will prosper and the church will prosper.
Fifth, gain wisdom in silence
The preacher said, "I would rather listen to the wise in silence than to the cries of those in power." (Ecclesiastes 9: 17)
People know how to wait silently, but they are not anxious or slow, and they are not angry or arrogant (bù yù nù bù hu ǒ, with a gentle attitude, proper limit is just right; An indifferent attitude; Objective neutrality), itself is a kind of insight into things of wisdom. Can we help it break the cocoon before it breaks into a butterfly? I can't. If we are wise, we will wait quietly until the wings and figure inside grow up, and then we can fly high.
Do you know the process of making pearls? The mantle of mussels is stimulated by the invasion of foreign substances such as sand. The epidermal cells in the stimulation area take foreign bodies as the core and fall into the connective tissue of the mantle. Some of the trapped epidermal cells divide themselves to form nacre, which secretes nacre and wraps the nucleus layer by layer to form pearls.
From breaking a cocoon into a butterfly to turning a grain of sand into a pearl, we reap wisdom, that is, the wisdom of waiting quietly. It's no use changing the environment too quickly.
Nowadays, looking around, including ourselves, people are restless, overstaffed, eager for success and quick success, thinking of becoming famous overnight, getting rich overnight, taking shortcuts and getting something for nothing. These ideas are obviously immature, and such a life is obviously unwise. Wise people will understand that life needs to be accumulated, and it needs to be accumulated and thinned. Anything that needs to be done well needs quiet preparation, quiet efforts and quiet waiting.
It's like drinking tea. We need to wait quietly and patiently for boiling water to make tea. When a pot of good tea is ready, you will understand that all the quiet waiting before is worth it.
People learn to look at themselves in silence, so as not to belittle themselves and be conceited. In silence, we see our weaknesses and shortcomings, just like a bare tree in winter. When all the leaves fall, the spots on the tree are exposed one by one. In fact, these shortcomings have always existed, but in the busy season, they were covered by green leaves. When the autumn wind blows everywhere, when the decorations are gone and the whole world is quiet, you will find that there are too many ugliness and absurdity in the naked and open life.
I can also see my limitations in silence. I thought I was here to change the world, but I was changed by the world, or by the world. And understand that the world is not inseparable from me, even without me, the world has not suffered too much. People can clearly know their own weight and status. They are not the center of the earth, and knowing themselves is a valuable wisdom.
Six, get clear in silence
Jesus made a request to his followers, that is, to keep a pure heart. Be honest and careful, turn over a new leaf, and have no evil in your heart; Peace of mind, such as water, will not sink when something happens or conflicts of interest. Jesus called such people blessed. He said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matt 5: 8) In quiet meditation and prayer to God, man confesses his sin, washes away the dust of his soul, washes away the dust of his soul, and washes his dusty heart with the precious blood of Jesus. The atrium should be cleaned frequently, or it will be full of dust.
People's hearts are easily occupied by various desires, and they also need to be illuminated and washed by the holy word and the holy spirit in silence. Jesus once said to everyone, "Be careful and self-controlled, and avoid all greed;": Because people's lives don't care about rich family resources. " (Luke) A man needs very little, but he demands a lot in life. People's hearts are insufficient, and it is difficult to fill their wants. The desire for money, beauty and power is as easy to burn yourself to death as fire; It's as easy to drown yourself as water. People can wash away their desires and stay awake in silence and introspection when facing the God who examines people's hearts.
The wise king David of Israel once wrote a poem: "Who can climb the mountain of the Lord? Who can stand in his sanctuary? He who has clean hands and a clean heart does not swear falsely or harbor deceit. He will be blessed by the Lord, and he will be justified by God who saves him. 」(Ps。 24: 35)
God bless a pure heart. We should come to God's sanctuary with a pure heart and worship the God who makes us righteous.
In turbulent times, people will inevitably be tempted, but it is hard not to be tempted and confused. The glitz in the world, the wealth of gold and silver, governs all beings, but it is precious not to be enslaved by things or confused by things. This valuable quality requires calm and determination; And this meditation, this determination, comes from the firm ambition to achieve a big vision in my heart.
At the age of 54, Zhuge Liang wrote a letter to his 8-year-old son Zhuge Zhan. There is a very good saying in the Commandment: "Indifference is unclear, and it is not far away if you are not quiet." In other words, a quiet and indifferent heart can lead a successful life.
Jesus, the son of man, was often praised as king during his service, so he left and went to other places to be quiet and alone. His disciples said to him, Teacher, many people are looking for you. The disciples were controlled and manipulated by people's demands, but Jesus was not. He knows exactly what he wants and what he should do. Jesus said unhurriedly, let's go, get out of here and preach the gospel somewhere else. That's why I came into this world. The world is so impetuous, you have to be quiet, quiet to be clear, clear to know what to do.
Seven, quiet and effective
The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, once said that your salvation lies in rest and your strength lies in peace and stability, and you refuse to fight. (Sai 30: 15)
How God expects his people to understand the beauty and benefits of silence, but people often refuse to pay attention. Faced with various challenges in life, work and interpersonal relationships, many people feel powerless, nervous and afraid. Trying to hide or downplay this feeling with busyness is an extravagant hope, and I want to solve the problem by avoiding it. Through his words, God told us a positive and effective way to solve the problem, and that is to look up to God silently. God said to people, "rest and know that I am God!" " (Ps。 46: 10)
God promises to give people strength when they look up to him quietly. Being quiet before God means being connected with the source of strength and life.