𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝙶𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚗 ….or so the saying goes.
Silence is the place that your inner thoughts begin to form. It is where dreams are dreamed. It is where inspiration runs rampant. In the midst of silence great things are birthed. As you bask in the silence, your spirit can be recharged from a day of stress. Silence is often necessary for the brain to shut off and prepare for a new day.
“Sometimes you have to take a break from all the noise to appreciate the beauty of silence”
– Robert Tew
Silence can be filled with so many good things, but silence can also be scary. It can be the place the accuser whispers his lies, those pointed arrows directed at destroying your confidence. When the noise of the world fades away and you are alone with your thoughts, it is the perfect time to test what you truly believe. When he whispers, “You are not good enough, they will never like you.” or “You can’t do this. You just don’t have what it takes.” Will you believe him? These pointed attacks if delivered at just the right time can immobilize you. Satan is not bold enough to say it where he can be rebuked. Just like the bully who will taunt you when no one sees, he will torment you when others are not around to offer encouragement.
I have a friend that is a wonderful Christian woman. She recently gave a testimony of the faithfulness of GOD as he worked in her family’s life. During her sweet testimony she made a statement that contained one wrong word, a simple mistake, yet Satan would have her believe that everyone heard it. He would tell her the lie that it negates her testimony. He would try to keep her from ever sharing again in FEAR. Thankfully, she knows the Lord and she knows TRUTH! She will share again in BOLDNESS! She will defeat that lie.
In my own personal life, the Lord has been convicting me about filling the silence with noise. Chitter chatter often fills in the gaps when my brain runs so fast and the fears come so hard. I have spent a great deal of time lately TALKING. Making phone calls, meeting for coffee, a fun lunch out, or even having people over to fill that void space that demands attention. None of these things are bad, as long as they fall in line with our true priorities in life. I spent some time this morning with the Lord, reading my Bible, writing my heart, and listing my priorities. Then I marked each one with a yellow dot if I thought I was succeeding in that area. Wow! That was eye opening. The top priorities were not marked.
I am not one to change scripture, but I have heard it said to place your name in the scripture to personalize it. Today this scripture kept running through my head along with the personalization.
Mark 8:36
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
If I substitute that last word of soul for 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧, etc. then I can truly see how my daily actions can gain me the world but lose everything I value the most. I can live life on a superficial level, all happy times and fun adventures. But by doing that, I miss the hard times. Those times are what drives me to my knees begging Jesus for help.
William Shakespeare, Henry V said “God shall be my hope, my stay, my guide and lantern to my feet.”
God cannot do that if my world is so noisy that I have no ears to hear him. As I stand on the edge of the pit of sorrow, I must pause, breathe deeply, absorb the silence, and be willing to let the black pain touch me. I do not have to stay there. I never have to let go of Jesus’ hand, but I must be willing to hurt. For in those deepest hurts are our greatest needs. We will never be as close to God as we are while standing in the mire, begging for mercy. When we stand on the mountain top of success and give God all the glory it is a good thing, but it is still not the same as the dependence we have on him while down in the valley.
Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
This scripture so aptly shows us the walk through the valley. We are there, with God and have no needs. We don’t want to be there, but the Shepherd is leading. He makes us rest. He restores us, for HIS NAME sake. He is not leaving us but allowing our story to share his story. Even though we are in this valley under a shadow, a heavy shadow of death, the ultimate separation from everything, we do not fear evil. He has a rod and staff that comfort us. The rod gently guides, corrects, and protects us. The staff is there to balance and steady us. Even in the presence of our enemies, God is blessing us. Anointing our heads (showing we are part of a royal family, adopted in) and filling our cups with him. There is no doubt in verse 6 that even though we are in this valley of despair, God’s goodness and mercy follow us AND we will one day be together with Jesus in heaven….forever….with Millie again…. Praise GOD that Jesus is not leaving my in that valley of the shadow of death. He has my problems under his control and in his timing. I just have to be willing to go into that valley and lean on him each day. I must be ok with the silence to really hear the Lord and I must know truth to discern his words from the lies of Satan.
Thank you for helping us Celebrate Millie’s 4th Birthday! Today I took Little Man and SJ to pick out a birthday cake for our family to enjoy (honestly yesterday I completely forgot we were going to buy a cake too). We received so many texts, messages, comments, and prayers telling us Millie will not be forgotten. A little girl, that most of you never met, who is changing the world for the better!
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