Most of us will do anything to avoid being alone and confronting our own inner turmoil, which is why Pascal, the French philosopher, said “All men’s miseries come from their inability to sit quietly and alone.” The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard put it this way, “Everything which is good in man begins in silence.” But he also said: “Man’s greatest fear is boredom. Boredom is the root of all evil so every moment must be filled with something, some activity, some form of business.”
It’s been more than a century and a half since he wrote those words, but I think they really speak of our times and our frenetic addiction to noise and activity. Yet over against all this are those timeless words of scripture in which God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” What we most avoid – stillness – is what we most need.