Quietness

I notice a lack among today's believers: they talk too much and fail to "study to be quiet" (1 Thess. 4.11a). Many are too passive, and many are too active. Those who receive much grace from God usually have their heads bowed. Only those who are not deeply rooted in Jesus Christ cannot help but be flippant. "A fool hath no delight in understanding, but only that his heart may reveal itself" (Prov. 18.2). How true is this saying! A person uninstructed by God tends to show forth his own good. But if we are deeply taught in the Lord, we will say with Jeremiah, "I sat alone because of thy hand" (Jer. 15.17b).

A quiet life is usually a fragrant life. If we speak less, what we speak will be more powerful. Talkativeness is a point of leakage in one's spirituality. Concerning the Holy Spirit the Lord Jesus declared: "He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you. . . . for he shall not speak from himself" (John 16.14,13b). A man full of the Holy Spirit has this kind of life. He will not tell anything which is not received from the Lord. Not a single word will be spoken out from himself. He does not say what he loves to say, and says it only after he has been commanded by the Lord. If we truly learn to obey the Holy Spirit in this area, our daily speech will be reduced by half! This will glorify the Lord. The Holy Spirit glorifies Him in words. What, then, should we who claim to be filled with the Spirit do?

How our natural life loves to express what we know. When those more advanced brothers and sisters teach anything of which we know just a little, we are eager to declare: "This we already know. . . Indeed, this is what we do!" When the Lord's servant is preaching, we are anxious to show that we are not like the others in the audience who have no knowledge about what is being preached. In actuality, though, we do not realize how much we yet do not know! A quiet life is a truly knowledgeable life!

How difficult it is to remain quiet-to say nothing and remain unmoved in heart when acclaimed by the crowd. The temptation of such a time is to add a few words directly or indirectly, propagating our own glory. How beautiful it is if we are not moved by outside circumstances but maintain a quiet spirit. How rare are those who are able to take contempt and despising with serenity without murmuring at the back. Even rarer is it to be speechless before men as well as before the Lord. This is due to the fact that the inward man is not excited.

A quiet life is to be calm in the spirit. It is not only characterized by few words but is also totally unmoved by outside things. The world may have people who are born with few words and laughs, but it has none born "quiet." They who speak little and laugh little have their hearts boiling like the rest of the people. In fact, sometimes their inside is even more turbulent. But a quiet person must be one with few words. To grit one's teeth as a means to not speak is not quietness, for his heart has already been disturbed.

Unless the cross works deeply in a man's heart, it is impossible for that one to be quiet. Only after the Holy Spirit has wrought in us the meaning of the cross will He be able to rule over us and bring in quietness. Our Lord is truly our example: when the crowd wanted to force Him to be king, He retreated to the mountain; and when He stood before Pilate, He uttered not a word (see John 6.15, and Matt. 27.11-14 or Mark 15.1-4). He made no sound outwardly, thus indicating that He had no fear within.