Flesh It Out (09/05/22)

 

" . . . waits in silence . . ." (Psa. 62:1)

Silence is more than the cessation of external noise.  Silence is also the cessation of internal agitation, including surrender of self-attempts to rectify a matter.  (That doesn't mean irresponsibility; rather, it is a manifestation of trust.)  Biblical silence, properly utilized, is a form of worship.

Hosea 13:5-6

Read Hosea 13:5-6.

God's not responding to your desperation (at least not when you think He should) could be a blessing. Silence or delay might be His merciful way of keeping you from falling away from Him.  So long as you are desperate, you will keep on looking to Him.  Indeed, His ways are higher than ours.

Astonished By Silence (Mk. 15:5)

Read Mark 15:5.

1.  Just because you can respond doesn't mean you should or must.

2.  You can only choose silence as your strategy because purity is your reality.  Silence, then, isn't an attempt to avoid anything's becoming worse.  It is confidence and strength.

3.  Silence might cause astonishment but silence isn't a guarantee against suffering.

The Seven Seals (Rev. 6:1-17; 8:1) (Part 8)

7. SEVENTH SEAL > silence, awe

^“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Rev. 8:1)

Silence is a word that is not typical in heaven. 

• Rev. 4:5 > “Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.”
• Rev. 4:8 > Regarding the four living creatures: “ . . . day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.”
• Rev. 5:2 > “And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice . . .”
• Rev. 5:9 > The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders “sang a new song.”
• Rev. 5:11-14 > “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.' And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, 'To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.' And the four living creatures kept saying, 'Amen.' And the elders fell down and worshiped.”

Doesn't that sound like noise to you?

  

Why does heaven become silent?  There is still more wrath to be poured out and it will only intensify!  "Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near . . ." (Zeph. 1:7).  

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, aren't you glad for 1 Thess. 5:9?

My Prayer (02/03/16)

Father in Heaven, help me today to speak clearly, convincingly, compassionately, courageously.  If the best thing for me to do is to not speak, then would You speak through that silence.  Whether in my speech or by my silence, be Thou glorified.

Fight To Get Alone

Fight to get alone
With Jesus.
Don't be cloned
By the drone
Of the world's machine.
Rebel! Nourish silence.
Peace returns to your soul.

-- written 10/26/15

Silence (Hab 2:20)

This is either the third verse of the fifth woe (parallelism: 5 woes, 3 verses each) or it is the conclusion to Habakkuk 2:6-19.

1. The possibility of silence. We live in a loud, distracting, harrassed world. God says, "Be silent." There is a time for rejoicing (Psa 97:1; Hab 3:18), a time for trembling (Psa 99:1; Hab 3:16) and a time for silence (Eccl 3:7b; Rev 8:1). Silence is possible, since it is commanded.
2. The provocation of silence. Why should you be silent? "The Lord" -- the Creator, Covenant-Keeper, Sustainer -- "is in His holy temple." He is real, He is alive, He is holy. He is at home -- in heaven and in your heart (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Col 1:27). Unlike the dead and dumb idols, God lives and speaks (Gen 1:1-3; Heb 1:1-2; Psa 29:3-9).
3. The power of silence. It is a high, appropriate form of worship. Silence is a source of strength and renewal (Isa 30:15).