Why Christian Teens Need Not Be Afraid of Silence

Are you afraid of silence?

Earlier this week, I urged you to Turn Down the Volume to Hear God’s Voice—a challenge to take control of your electronic habits before they crowd out the only voice you need to hear. Did you give it a try, or at least a thought? 

Ha! Turn off my phone? Give me a break, Lauren.

Yeah, I get it. Twenty years ago, flip phones were hip and Facebook was barely conceived. Today, it’s near impossible to find someone who doesn’t have their own personal mobile device and at least two active social media accounts. We’ve been groomed to fill every idle moment with texting, tweeting, surfing, scrolling, and “liking.”

Hit a lull in the cafeteria conversation? Pull out your phone and scroll Instagram.

Awake at two a.m.? Log on to Twitter and see what you’ve missed since you set your phone down four hours ago.

Why so much reliance on our devices for entertainment? I think I know the answer. Without the constant drip-line of news feeds and social engagement, we would be forced to face a beast that terrifies many of us more than big hairy spiders in teeny-tiny spaces:

Silence. 

Behold, the Enemy

If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, silence has come to be viewed as her worst enemy.

Silence opens the door to boredom. Suddenly, you have nothing to do with your hands—and nothing to distract your mind. And like a preteen boy with nothing to do, an idle mind will stir up trouble. It starts to reflect, perhaps drawing up the fear, guilt, and inadequacy you’ve managed to suppress thus far. You realize your life is not exactly what you want it to be, that you’re not who you think you should be.

So you either wallow in the blues that accompany that admission or reach for your favorite drug—which for some really is a drug or illicit substance. For others, it’s binge eating, pornography, steamy romance novels, the rush of doing something dangerous …

Maybe it’s safer to go back to my phone, right?

Wait, don’t reach for your device just yet!

For the Christian, silence is nothing more than a paper tiger—a laughably benign creature with a fearful appearance. In truth, silence gives you the chance to take those feelings of fear, shame, and inadequacy and set them before God.

Which is exactly where they belong because they are all lies.

Through his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus made you perfect. He switched your disgracefulness with his pure, unblemished record: 

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:4-6

Struggling with a sense of inadequacy? Living in fear? Crippled by shame? You don’t need to be. It’s time to divorce those lies and declare, as Francesca Batistelli does in The Breakup Song, “Fear, you don’t own me.”

Do you believe it? Trust me, it’s not when you have your phone in hand that your “Aha!” moment will arrive. It’s during times of quiet prayer and Biblical reflection that these truths will sink into your heart and take root.

Do No Be Afraid of Silence—Embrace it!

My Christian friend, have no fear of silence. No amount of noise—texts, tweets, or likes—can fill the gaps in your soul. Only God can do that, and he has through Jesus. You can’t become more perfect than you already are.

So don’t try to fill your newfound silence. Sit back and let the peace of God which transcends all understanding guard your mind in Christ Jesus.

“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” 

Matthew 10:27

May you always face silence in eager anticipation of what God might whisper in your ear!