Comfortable Silence

 

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven…a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak… (Eccl 3:1,7)

A friend contacted me yesterday to make sure I was okay. She noticed that I had not been posting devotionals on Facebook for a few weeks and was wondering if everything was alright. I told her that our family had gotten Covid over the holidays, and although the kids’ symptoms were mild, it knocked me and my husband back a few notches, but we’re on the mend now. I also told her that when I got sick, the Lord got quiet, and I went though some rough spiritual warfare, because the devil always likes to kick you when you’re down.  

Although the sickness and spiritual warfare are over and gone, the Lord is still quiet. And one thing I’ve learned about ministry over the years is that when the Lord is silent, I need to be silent too. My simple answer as to why I haven’t been posting devotionals lately, is because the Lord hasn’t been giving me anything to say. I could easily fill the silence with Bible teaching and drive-by comments on biblical topics, but it wouldn’t be Spirit led. It would just be noise…and I think there’s enough of that already without me adding to it. 

And I think that’s something we should all ponder. Can we be comfortable in the Lord’s silences, or do we feel compelled to fill those silences with things we assume He would be pleased with, or things we assume people need? Because I can teach the Bible nine-ways-to-Sunday, but if the Lord isn’t specifically asking me to do that for Him, it’s just wood, hay, and stubble only fit to be burned. I could spend a lifetime filling the Lord’s silences with teachings and comments, but in the end He could still say to me, “It was a work I never asked you to do.” 

Oh Lord, teach us how to wait on You. Teach us the difference between being led by our own soul, and being led by Your Spirit. Teach us the difference between a time to speak, and a time to be silent. 

(Zeph 1:7) Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.

(Ps 37:7-9) Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

(1 Cor 3:12,13) If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.