Quiet Times

For many people life is replete with distractions. An array of adventures vie for their attention; their kids, marriage, job, or lack of one, finances, the economy, upcoming elections, and current events. Ah yes, current events. That would include the recent tragedy at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, wouldn’t it? Twelve murdered and 58 wounded by a gunman who burst through an emergency exit at the front of the theatre and fired off a tear gas capsule. The gunman then methodically walked up the aisle shooting people at random.  

If an event ever called for quiet time, this is it. But what is quiet time and what’s it good for, considering the way this world turns? A quiet time is a period of solitary reflection, in which people gather the turbulence inside them and present it to an almighty, sovereign, God.

A quiet time is the opportunity to let go of those emotions that beg for release. God understands and can handle whatever flows out of someone’s heart. God created the universe and all that is in it, and, through the sovereign miracle of the incarnation, lived approximately 33 years in that creation, as His creation. Whatever emotions are pent up inside one of His own the creator understands them.

The experience of a quiet time can happen anywhere at any time because God is anywhere at any time. No invitations or appointments are necessary, you’re covered. In addition, no handbooks, diagrams, or blue prints are necessary. Quiet times are personal and private. A person’s quiet time may be a carbon copy of someone else’s, without knowing it, or their quiet time may be unique, without knowing it. However, don’t worry about any confusion on God’s part; Matthew 10:30 says even the hairs on your head are numbered.

What kind of world is it? Is it a world where civilization is destroying itself from within, while the world spins its way to destruction in a universe that’s being destroyed through the abuse of those who live in it? Or, is it a world that’s under the control of the One who created it, who is outside the constraints of time and has no beginning or end, and has a purpose that will come to fruition.

The experiences wrought through quiet times may disclose those facts, to those who try it.