Edited by Jim McCrory, Tuesday 15 July 2025 at 18:38
“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes,
and the grass grows by itself.” —Zen Proverb
There is a wisdom that lies not in effort, but in stillness. In our fast and fractured world, we often surround ourselves with noise: the crowd, the chatter of hardened friends, the relentless movement of modern life. Yet it is in solitude—when we sit quietly, not striving to impress or explain—that something profound begins to stir.
There are moments when our private thoughts rise like smoke from a smouldering conscience. We begin to wonder: have we added anything to the richness of life? Or have we, in our haste or self-interest, brought pain to those we touched? These are disturbing thoughts, but they are necessary. For it is in this honest silence that repentance takes root, and healing begins.
The Bible invites us to such moments of reflection. “Be still, and know that I am God,” says Psalm 46:10. Stillness is not idleness; it is the posture of humility before the Creator. In the quiet, God reveals what the crowd cannot.
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). He sought communion with the Father in solitude—not to escape people, but to love them better. And he calls us to examine ourselves: “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!” (Lamentations 3:40).
It is not weakness to sit with uncomfortable thoughts. It is a strength of the soul. Like the grass that grows by itself in spring, change comes not always through force, but through the gentle working of grace. The Spirit of God does its work quietly—convicting, softening, renewing.
In time, the hardened soil of our hearts may break open, and what seemed dead may rise with green shoots. If we have wounded others, let us make peace. If we have wasted our days, let us redeem the time. And if we feel small, let us remember: “A bruised reed he will not break” (Isaiah 42:3).
In the Quietness, God Speaks
“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes,
and the grass grows by itself.”
—Zen Proverb
There is a wisdom that lies not in effort, but in stillness. In our fast and fractured world, we often surround ourselves with noise: the crowd, the chatter of hardened friends, the relentless movement of modern life. Yet it is in solitude—when we sit quietly, not striving to impress or explain—that something profound begins to stir.
There are moments when our private thoughts rise like smoke from a smouldering conscience. We begin to wonder: have we added anything to the richness of life? Or have we, in our haste or self-interest, brought pain to those we touched? These are disturbing thoughts, but they are necessary. For it is in this honest silence that repentance takes root, and healing begins.
The Bible invites us to such moments of reflection. “Be still, and know that I am God,” says Psalm 46:10. Stillness is not idleness; it is the posture of humility before the Creator. In the quiet, God reveals what the crowd cannot.
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). He sought communion with the Father in solitude—not to escape people, but to love them better. And he calls us to examine ourselves: “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!” (Lamentations 3:40).
It is not weakness to sit with uncomfortable thoughts. It is a strength of the soul. Like the grass that grows by itself in spring, change comes not always through force, but through the gentle working of grace. The Spirit of God does its work quietly—convicting, softening, renewing.
In time, the hardened soil of our hearts may break open, and what seemed dead may rise with green shoots. If we have wounded others, let us make peace. If we have wasted our days, let us redeem the time. And if we feel small, let us remember: “A bruised reed he will not break” (Isaiah 42:3).
For even the broken can grow again.