Can you sit in silence? I’ve had times in my life where sitting in silence is very painful. My mind is chaotic with anxious thoughts. I have found that there’s a few reasons this happens to me and maybe you can relate. The first reason has to do with staring at too many screens. There’s something about always having access to entertainment and never feeling bored. I would also say this happens to me when I am not spending time intentionally self reflecting. Self-reflection is used often in counseling terms. However, I believe this to be very biblical. Here’s a few places we see self reflection in the Bible:
Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Psalm 119:59-60 — “I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.”
1 Corinthians 11:28-29 — “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ, eat and drink judgment on themselves.”
Matthew 7:3-5 — “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Sitting by yourself in quiet can really tell you where you’re at with listening to your body. If you have a hard time sitting still in the quiet you may need to practice more self-reflection. Here’s three questions to ask yourself when you are experiencing anxiety when sitting in silence:
- Take time to journal out how your body is feeling at this moment. Does your chest feel tight? Is your jaw relaxed, is there a tingling in your stomach? Can you put words to how your body is responding to your emotions?
- Am I focussing on the external of my life more than the internal? This is crucial because if you are blaming your negative feelings on how your spouse, boss, kids or others are acting you may be feeling out of control of your life. This makes sense because you can only control you and how you respond internally to what is going on externally. “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12)
- How am I treating others in my life? Ask yourself if there’s an action or a word that you might need to ask forgiveness for. This will just build your relationships instead of tear down. “The fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patients, kindness goodness. Against such things there are no law.” (Galatians 5:6)
- Am I keeping my word? Am I who I say I am? Being a truth keeper will take away anxiety. You will also be able to trust others more. “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matthew 5:37)
Shine on,
HL
