THE PUNCTUATION OF SILENCE AND SOLITUDE – Part 2 of 2

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  (Psalm 46:10 NIV)

If you have a magazine or newspaper handy, try reading any article without using the punctuation marks. It doesn’t make much sense does it? It all becomes a hectic string of words. The meaning is lost. It lacks direction. The purpose of punctuation in a piece of writing is to guide the reader into the true meaning of the words and phrases; through it we understand. Punctuation also gives life and purpose to the words. Next time you see your favorite actor or actress on television, notice how cleverly they use timing -- pauses and spaces -- to give the words their meaning and power.

Punctuation is a helpful way of thinking about Jesus’ relationship with silence and solitude. Jesus punctuated His life with silence and solitude. His times alone were the commas, pauses and full stops in the story of His life. They gave the rest of His life its structure, direction and balance. His words and His works were born out of those hours of silent waiting upon God…

Solitude is the place where the whole of our personality and being, seen and unseen, is drawn together in the transforming presence of God’s love. But more than that, the silence of solitude is the silence of eternity. We are drawn into the mystery of something bigger than ourselves. It places us, with all that God has made, in the heart of the Father’s love and presence. It is there that life is renewed, restored and given its true perspective. 

-- David Runcorn in “A Center of Quiet: Hearing God When Life Is Noisy,” 1990

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