“Silence guards the fire within”. ~Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart
As you may have guessed from my latest posts, silence has been on my mind quite a bit lately. One of the reasons for this is that the more I’ve been trying to control my tongue, the less success I seem to be having! One consolation is that I’ve noticed a pattern in my life: when I’m about to overcome something, it becomes pronounced. It’s like a blaring alarm that forces me to deal with the issue so I can get some peace and quiet already!
As an extrovert/verbal processor, keeping silent has been no small feat! But as I’ve been pondering how ‘silence guards the fire within‘, motivation has skyrocketed. Keeping the heart-fire burning has been the most exciting and valuable reward of weighing my words as it kindles my passion for God and draws me ever-closer to Him.
I love that secret, intimate place where God and I share our inside jokes and private life together. It makes the reality of God as Father, Jesus as Bridegroom, and the Holy Spirit as Comforter all that more real to me. I have always reserved secrets for God’s ears only, but now that I am intentionally incorporating silence into my life, knowing that it heats up my most precious relationship makes silence more of a desire than a discipline.
Once again I am amazed at how a Heavenly perspective transforms the seemingly dull and difficult into a delight.
“You need discipline in your spirituality, but if your discipline is not earthed in delight, you won’t have the desire to see it through.” ~Graham Cooke
blossomingpebble 
“a Heavenly perspective transforms the seemingly dull and difficult into a delight.” – wonderful words! I can really ‘hear’ the delight you are finding in allowing God to refine you in the area of silence/reflection. Even though it’s hard, and the enemy likes to ramp things up when we’re growing, you’re discovering joy in the process of drawing closer to God.
Praying you’ll know greater intimacy with Him as you surrender this area of your life to Him.
Philippians 1:6: “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Thank-you for your prayers and encouraging words, I receive them gratefully. I’m glad the delight came across to you – may you be delighted by our Father’s amazing love in completely unexpected ways…
I really like reading about your spiritual journey. I am reading (slowly) 2 books by Leanne Payne. Ralph and I will celebrate our 60th year of marriage on the 23rd of this month (also my 79th birthday). The years have really flown by! We rejoice in Him who has been and continues to be our loving, faithful Father.
Praying that His peace, grace & love will abide with you today. Lavon
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Hi Lavon!
So lovely to hear from you! I’ve read some of Leanne Payne’s stuff – it is very insightful, but I found it quite challenging to take in – small portions at a time worked for me too.
Congratulations to you and Ralph. Wow, 60 years. So many memories – I find it hard to wrap my mind around. It must be so – I’m not sure words can express how it must feel to have such a deep and valuable relationship for such a long time. I’m so happy for you both.
Thank-you for your encouraging words and kind wishes. Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary – the best is yet to come – with our amazing Father it only gets better and better – Isn’t He wonderful?
love, Hannah