On Sunday, I was listening to Bobby's message online, and he asked “What is the scariest sound to you? What is the happiest sound to you?” I started thinking... Silence. Silence can be scary sometimes. I remember the day my oldest daughter was born. The doctors placed her right on my chest, and I heard nothing. She was silent. I was terrified in that moment, turned out it was just a simple suction that she needed!
Ryan and I watched a movie with our kids the other night and in the movie, a boy has a birthday wish to see his dad for just 24 hours. The wish didn’t go exactly as planned, as only half of his dads body appeared. The boy and his brother go on a quest to find a spell to bring the rest of their dad back. The brothers have lists of things they wanted to do with their dad. Things didn’t go according to their plan, and the boy was giving up. He walks to the edge of a cliff and sits down with part of his dad's body as the 24 hours are ending. He was disappointed, angry, and felt defeated as he looked down at his list. He just sat there in silence holding onto his dad. As he sat in silence he crossed off everything on his list. Then, just like that he realized that even though his dad was not there, his brother had fulfilled all those things on his list!
“You only need to remain silent; the Lord will fight for you.” -Exodus 14:14
Sometimes silence is needed so we can focus on what God has right before us. Ever been so upset because things just didn’t go your way? I know I've been there. But, when I look back on all the trials I’ve faced God had a lesson for me in each one. We have all faced times in our lives when in our hearts of hearts we thought “God, why me?” Ever ask “God, why are you silent NOW?” I think that in moments we feel like God is not with us is the moments we need to be silent. Only in our silence we can we really hear what God wants to say to our hearts.
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.” -Psalm 62:5
It is easy to want to push the fast-forward button on life so we can see what the end result is. Wouldn’t it be nice to know God's plan during our trials? We just need to trust Him. Even in those eerily silent moments, He is teaching us something. From personal experience, once I am on the other side of my trials, God always reveals exactly what he was trying to teach me. Even the most heart-breaking experiences can have positive teaching within them. We just need to be silent and listen to God. He will tell us when to use our story!
God, I pray that You give hope to those who are experiencing silence right now. I pray that even though they may not hear You right now that they can feel Your presence. May You show us that silence is a blessing, not a curse. I pray that You show us that every test CAN be a testimony. The Glory is forever Yours, Amen
Stay blessed RCC,
Jen