I saw a car on my street recently with this bumper sticker: “If it’s too loud, you’re too old.” If I had paper and pen with me, I would have left a note in the windshield that said, “I may be old, but at least I’m not deaf.” As I anticipate the return of warm weather, I know that more loud music is coming, and I’m not looking forward to that.

I have to admit that I don’t appreciate it when others play their music so loud that I am forced to listen to it. After all, I don’t make them listen to my music!

That got me to thinking. Why do so many people constantly surround themselves with noise? (And, yes, I put some kinds of so-called music in that category, too). Not only do many play their music for all to hear, others have it pulsing at ear-destroying levels through their headphones. Occasionally, it is so loud that you can still hear it as you walk past them.

I remember visiting many homes where the TV is left playing (apparently all the time) even when no one is watching it. These thoughts made me wonder: Are these people scared of silence, and if so, why?

Life is difficult. Sometimes it’s miserably painful, and constant noise can be used to distract us from our hurting hearts. One reason silence can be scary is that it leaves us abandoned to our feelings of loneliness and sense of hopelessness.

Let me show you how to enjoy spending time when the entire world’s noise is turned off.

It all begins with a quiet conscience. It is so hard to enjoy life when our conscience keeps bugging us. Guilt can be a very heavy burden to carry. We may try to tell ourselves that God doesn’t exist, or that even if He does exist, He doesn’t really care about our sin. Down deep, I think we all know that isn’t true. There is a Creator, and one day we will all have to answer to Him. That is why the Bible says, “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Ever wonder why the Jesus of the Bible is so unpopular? Here is the answer: “This is the judgment, that the Light

[Jesus] has come into the world, and men loved the darkness [the world’s noise?] rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Jesus reminds us that we are sinners who need forgiveness.

No need to despair. Here is a wonderful solution to all of our guilt. Jesus “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession….” (Titus 2:14). When we believe that Jesus paid for all of our sin, we can know that “as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:11–13).

When our guilt has been taken away, then God says we can, “Cease striving [or “be quiet”] and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10). The Message, a popular Bible paraphrase, re-words that verse to say, “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”

One Bible commentary explains the big difference God can make in our everyday lives. “To ‘know’ that God is God is to experience Him in the quiet of our hearts. This is relational, not merely theological knowledge. It is letting God’s peace settle down upon us. It is knowing Him as our security and stability in the storm.” [Donald Williams and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Psalms 1–72, vol. 13, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), Page 359.]

Katharina von Schlegel talked about the peace God can give in her hymn “Be Still, My Soul.”

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the winds and waves still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

I have learned that there is nothing like spending a quiet time in the presence of God. He really is my best friend. Jesus can be your best friend, too. Then there will be no reason to be scared of the silence.