When Silence is not Golden or is it?
By Machelle McDowell
Have you ever been silenced by this sound, “Shhhh?” It is a request for us to be quiet.
What is the purpose of being quiet? A teacher may use this method to quiet the classroom or a parent to hush their child. Most times than not, it is for the purpose of being able to hear something important.
The word, silence has loomed over me often recently as it seems to be the only answer that comes to mind as I listen to so many people that I love share their hearts about how they are going through a season of “silence.”
The only answer from God seems to be, “silence.” Their prayers seem to be unheard or are they?
Situations where the voice of God is begged to be heard or his hand to be felt to address unexplained health issues or a family facing serious life decisions that are in limbo and whatever the outcome will effect people’s lives forever. What do we do?
No visible answer is apparent, “Why the silence, Lord?”
There is hope, friends!
God has reminded me of so many instances where “SILENCE” was the answer! He shows us his power through the silence.
We are bombarded by the things of world that are overwhelming. As we take a peek at the end of (Matthew ch.4), it summarizes the setting by painting the picture of huge crowds that swarmed around Jesus and the baggage they bore…… as the sick flocked around him, the demon possessed followed him, the curious stalked him………he was bombarded.
It amazed me how he responded in this passage……… Jesus himself demonstrated in (Matthew 5:1) that he saw the crowds and he went up on the mountain…he needed to sit in silence. Why?
This is us friends, when we are bombarded with the woes of the world that come in different packages for all of us sometimes, silence is the answer we seek.
God does many miracles through silence. God is doing something much bigger than we can wrap our heads around.
Another precious story where silence spoke loudly! Jesus raised his friend, Lazarus from the dead! The story is found in (John 11). Lazarus’ sisters cried out to Jesus for help and he was silent for days as their brother laid ill to the point of death. He didn’t answer them the way they thought he should have. He should have come urgently in their minds/hearts. Through the silence miracles were unfolded in many ways beyond their understanding.
Martha & Mary had no clue that Jesus’s silence was the answer to their prayer by restoring their brother’s life! They sat for days in confusion, disappointment, sadness, as they waited for their friend who could have made a difference. Have you been there?
Where was he? And, why did he choose to be silent? Have you asked yourself these same questions? Have you felt like Mary & Martha? Where are you, Lord? Aren’t you going to do something?
As they sat in silence Jesus was speaking prayers over heir lives that would transform them in ways they could not have imagined. He was going to show them something so much bigger than anything they could ask!
Through the silence their doubt turned to praise, gratefulness, thankfulness, and awe! The answer came in the form of “silence,” but the beauty is what happened in their lives during the time of silence. They become strong in their weakness!
Beyond anything they could have asked, their brother was raised from the dead!
Last but not least, one of my favorite passages found in (2 Cor 12:7-10) addresses another fella who received an answer from God through silence, Paul.
We are unsure as to what Paul’s thorn was, but the jest of the truth was that God allowed it to remain with Paul throughout his ministry. A constant irritation and annoyance.
Paul pleaded with God (3) times to remove this “thorn” but God refused. Paul sat in silence waiting on the answer he wanted but never came. God’s answer was silence on the matter. The thorn would remain for His purposes are greater than our own. However; he did not leave Paul helpless but promised him His grace!
God’s grace would be sufficient for Paul to live with this thorn. The thorn that kept him humbly dependent on his creator. Paul would become totally submissive to the God who call him out from the darkness. His answer was far better than having the thorn removed. The silent answer prepared Paul for greater purposes!!
As you sit in silence, sit in expectancy! What is God up to? I assure you, it is far better than anything you can imagine….Silence is golden!