Boredom Is Not The Enemy
What you find when nothing is filling the gap.
On the discipline of an unfilled moment.
The big idea
Most of what God says arrives in the silence you keep interrupting.
Opening scripture
“After the earthquake came fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still small voice.”
What does “Boredom Is Not The Enemy” walk through?
A Still Small Voice
1 Kings 19:12 · KJV
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
In plain English
After the earthquake came fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still small voice.
Not In The Noise
God was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. He was in the quiet after. Elijah had to stay long enough past the spectacle to hear it.
Be Still
Psalms 46:10 · KJV
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
In plain English
Be still, and know that I am God.
“Boredom is not a problem to be solved. It is a doorway most people close before walking through.”
Wait Without Fretting
Psalms 37:7 · KJV
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
In plain English
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Don't get worked up over people who succeed at doing wrong.
The Gap Is The Point
Every queue, every lift, every walk is an unfilled moment. Filling all of them is not efficiency — it is how a person becomes unreachable, including to God.
Pray
Lord, help me sit in one quiet moment today without reaching for anything. Amen.
Write it down
When was the last time you were bored, and what happened?
Leave one gap
Next queue you stand in, just stand in it.
Which passages does this journey use?
3 passages, drawn from 1 Kings 19:12, Psalms 46:10, Psalms 37:7. Every verse appears here in the King James text with a plain-English line beside it, so you can read it without a commentary open. Allow about 6 minutes for the whole thing, or 7 short sittings.
- 1 Kings 19:12
- Psalms 46:10
- Psalms 37:7
Read any of these in full on the complete KJV, or look the wording up independently at Blue Letter Bible.
More in Your Phone and Your Soul
All Your Phone and Your Soul →The Attention Diet
What you feed your mind becomes your life.
What Scrolling Costs You
Counting the price of an ordinary hour.
Digital Sabbath
Practising a day that does not need you.
Your Phone And Your Prayer Life
The first thing you reach for.
The First Five Minutes Awake
How a day gets its direction.
Curating What You Consume
You are allowed to close things.