Sacred Silence
For God alone my soul in silence waits; from him comes my salvation (Ps. 62:1). Thousands of years ago, a devout person, tossed about by the storms of life, knelt down before God in the silence of the Jewish Temple. Only when this sacred silence had penetrated the depths of his soul was he able to say these words: “For God alone my soul in silence waits; from him comes my salvation.” Oh, you ancient singer, you appear to us like an image from a pleasant dream that we long for, yet find so distant from us. We are attracted to you, but we no longer understand you. Teach us something about the silence of the soul, the soul that waits for God.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
Meditating on the Word
In a noisy, restless world—and often in the noise of our own inner battles—we can forget the sacred gift of silence. Dietrich Bonhoeffer reflects on the psalmist’s cry: “For God alone my soul in silence waits.” It’s not a silence of resignation or apathy, but a silence of surrender—a posture of deep trust that knows salvation doesn’t come from frantic striving, but from stillness before God. The psalmist, weathered by life’s storms, learned something we desperately need: that true peace begins not when our circumstances change, but when our soul quiets in God’s presence.
In treatment, it’s tempting to fill the silence—through distractions, performance, or even constant introspection. But healing often begins in stillness, when we stop trying to fix ourselves and simply wait for God to meet us. Bonhoeffer calls us back to that ancient posture: not rushing, not forcing, just waiting. May we recover this sacred silence—not as emptiness, but as fullness, where salvation unfolds slowly and quietly. Today, take time to be still. Let your soul wait in silence for God—and there, find again that He has been your salvation all along. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics