Is silence really golden?

    There are times when you know things are ordained by God.
As I was sitting down to write this blog, I clicked on the blog of one of the pastors of the church I’m on staff at.
  http://bigcloudmusic.blogspot.com/2011/05/solitude-of-running-alone.html 
He has written about the very thing that has been on my heart the past week.

Silence.

When is the last time you were really silent before God?
No background music or TV.
Not even praying.
Have you ever really just been silent before God and allowed Him to speak?

Mother Teresa said “If we really want to pray, we must first listen: for in the silence of the heart God speaks.”

    God spoke to Samuel in the middle of the night because this was the only time Samuel was silent. He, like many of us, had obligations and duties to attend to. Samuel worked in the church every day and when God spoke he didn't recognize His voice.

Would we know that voice?

    How easy it is to fill our lives with actions and noise to a point where we are uncomfortable with silence. I feel more comfortable (even more spiritual to be honest) if I have music in the background. 

There have been countless times that I have missed the voice of God because I have been being “Spiritual.” There have been times working at the church that I have been “to busy” to Pray. There have also been times when I have been too busy praying to listen to the voice of God. All of these things are really just an excuse for me not to face the things I am uncomfortable with. Sitting in silence waiting for God to speak to me doesn’t fit into the comfortable lifestyle I have created.
I must constantly be doing something. 

Even in my faith, I am quick to forget that God has called me to “Be still and know that He is God.” 

    Jesus warned against praying with many words. (Matt. 5:7)  I believe that prayer is about us aligning our hearts with the heart of God and taking time to hear from him. There is nothing we can say that he doesn’t already know.

Make it a point to set aside times of silence.  Next time you're in your car, turn off the radio and just listen. For many of us this will be awkward and uncomfortable but if we allow God to move and speak to us, we will find that we will begin to recognize His voice.

What do you think?
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Mourn with those who mourn.

Turn the other cheek.
Love your enemies.
Do good to those who hurt you.
Pray for those who mistreat you.

    These are the words of Christ. Not the words of Christianity or the words of religion. Christ. When Jesus said to love your enemies, who were the enemies that he was referring to?  When he said to pray for those who mistreat you, who was he referring to?
    In the days following the murder of Osama Bin Laden, I believe it is necessary to stop  and reflect on these words. What did the heart of God cry out at the moment of his death? Did he rejoice over the end of a tyrant or did his heart break over the death of his child?
    Did the unrighteous actions that Bin Laden committed cause the father to love him any less? If that is the case, than every unrighteous act I commit causes the father to love me less as well. Thank God for his unfailing grace that chases us down when we don’t deserve it.
    The Bible is clear that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us any more than he does right this second. The marvelous flip side of this is that there is nothing we can do that is so terrible that God will love us less than he does right this second. This grace doesn’t change as our actions get worse.
    In the book of Romans there is a line that says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.” In the wake of this instance let us rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Not over the death of the individual, but in the lessening of the oppression he created. I believe that the heart of God is rejoicing right along with us and that, in this fact, the Heavens are celebrating. However, in our rejoicing let us not forget to mourn with those who mourn. When the dust settles there will still be children without a father, wives without a husband and a community that is missing a leader. How we feel or whether we agree with them does not change the fact that we are called to mourn with them in their loss.
    Now is the time for us to put our faith into action. This, I believe, is the central message of Jesus. To love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We have neighbors who are mourning the death of a loved one. This is a time for us to put aside out political and personal difference. To pray for them and join them in their mourning.

Join the discussion.
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