Streams of Comfort

It seems antithetical to write about silence. To be true to the theme, maybe we should post empty space. At a glance, when I was contemplating what silence is, I kept getting stuck at silence being nothingness.  The absence of sound. If you were to take a poll, I am sure you would get a wide variety of answers as to whether silence is good or not. Maybe in some circumstances, silence is golden. Like a long flight or a movie theater. Maybe not so much in other cases. Like a concert or a football game. Yet the bible teaches us that silence is so much more than what it seems at the surface. In my study of Lamentations, I came across this passage that speaks to the importance of silence in the Christian life (Lamentations 3:25-28): 

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.

It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.

Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;”

Throughout the bible, God talks about silence being a good thing because the mouth is the ruin of fools (Proverbs 18:6-7) , but a man of understanding is silent when belittled (Proverbs 11:12). Often I find it difficult to walk in obedience with God because I feel that He is silent when I don’t want Him to be. Yet those are the foolish, evil whispers of the enemy. Our God is here. All the time. He is not silent (Psalm 50:3). So for us, silence is to be incorporated in our lives. To prevent foolishness and evil from spreading from our dark thoughts. To contemplate God and His glory. May you find time to unplug and be silent this month. You never know what God may be trying to tell you.