The desire for peace grew louder within me. I longed for a life without screens. Simply being offline and being able to enjoy the quiet. No flashing displays screaming for my attention. How beautiful it would be to have more time for what truly matters. Insights from numerous studies reveal that we spend more time in front of screens than we actually desire.
It’s one of the greatest addictions of our time: being online.
Therefore, I decided to embark on a challenge: 5 days without digital devices. I banished my phone, laptop, smartwatch, and tablet (we don’t own a TV or landline connection). The kitchen counter no longer held any gadgets; instead, it showcased my open Bible. As I left the house, Bible verse cards accompanied me instead of my devices. Rather than staring at my phone in the doctor’s waiting room, I opened up my Bible. Time spent in nature and in books complemented my daily routine and replaced my electronic companions.
Turning my gaze away from all screens opened my eyes afresh to God. The withdrawal from my digital devices became apparent on the very first evening. With all distractions gone, as no podcast played and no series flickered, in complete silence, a deep yearning made itself heard: a life without toil, without responsibility, without worries, and without suffering. The desire for comfort, unconditional love, and deep peace spread within me. The ability to let go of all struggles and burdens of life. It is the deepest longing behind all the profound desires of our hearts: God Himself. Living in His presence. The yearning to be sheltered by Him. The desire for eternity with God.
A quote from C.S. Lewis echoed in my mind during this time: If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.
Online addiction numbs us. It prevents us from perceiving our deepest yearnings. It blinds us to the loud calls of our own hearts. Yet, these longings want to be heard, felt, and lived. They want us to acknowledge and respect them because they point to God Himself – the source of all life.
In moments of calm, in moments of boredom, when it’s utterly quiet, the yearning becomes loud. And right there, we can succeed in aligning ourselves completely with God. He is already meeting our heart’s desire to some extent. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment of what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:22). Loving and compassionate interactions within family and friends bear witness to God’s presence. The Christian community points to the Kingdom of God. And even now, we can live in communion with God by spending time with Him, in His Word, and in prayer.
All of this is a glimpse of what our longing points towards: a perfect life in God’s presence, as it will be in eternity. Distractions no longer let us feel this desire clearly, the desire that helps us align our lives completely with God, live in His will, and continually seek Him.
Not only does the longing for God get drowned out by screens, but our inner restlessness also becomes overshadowed. We tend to bury our unrest so deep that we scarcely think about it. We numb our inner pain with distractions. However, this only offers us short-lived relief. When we switch off the screens, we realize that our hope for peace has only confronted us more with our inner turmoil.
What feelings arise when everything around us is quiet? Suppressed emotions wish to be acknowledged and examined by the truth. A good way to handle the surging emotions is to invite Jesus into them: To ask Him to meet us within these feelings and help us sort them out. Where do they come from? What do they want to tell us, and do our feelings about a certain situation correspond to the truth?
Certain emotions require us to learn to endure them until we gain clarity or the situation changes. A visit to the dentist might feel unpleasant but serves the purpose of making us feel better in the long run. Our emotions are similar in nature. The pain is loud because it wishes to be confronted.
During these 5 days without distractions, I was confronted with the deepest human longing and my own emotions. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, but after around 3 days, clarity set in. Suddenly, I noticed heightened concentration and a sharpened focus. My thinking became clearer, and I felt calmer.
When the time came, after 5 days, to turn my devices back on, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I looked forward to it, but on the other, I didn’t want to lose the newfound peace.
To my great surprise, during my time off, I hadn’t missed anything at all. Nobody was looking for me urgently. My 5-day absence didn’t make much of a difference in the world. But for me, this break made a huge impact. It brought change in my life: More peace and new routines.
After those 5 days, I introduced new habits: I drastically reduced my time spent watching series and replaced it with reading. My phone is now mainly placed in my office instead of the living room. Also, as a family, we decided to turn off all our digital devices each Sunday and enjoy time offline.
Since this 5-day challenge, I’ve experienced a peace deeper than ever before. I never want to return to my old habits but rather savor this newfound depth of peace. For nothing compares to having created more space in my life for the presence of God.
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2 replies on “When the Screens Are Too Loud”
This clearly speaks to me because I have been so consumed by the digital world to an extent of losing what is important in my life which is God and his will for my life and everything I pause the online or entertainment I always laugh because I’m not missing out on anything but the devil will convince you that you are missing out when infact the digital world doesn’t need you to run its own business. So I can relate very well to the story and how Beautiful is spending time with God , it’s the best thing ever. I pray that we get to spend more time with God because it’s refreshing and healing.
Danke dir, für diesen Einblick. Du hast es mal wieder auf den Punkt gebracht.