“The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope.” Lamentations 3:25-29

We have grown quite accustomed to the preponderance of noise. From the constant buzzes, beeps and chirps of our various devices to the clatter of all kinds of man-made machinery, our ears rarely hear the sound of silence. We have grown so foreign to such a sound and concept that many pastors just blow right by the hymnal’s rubric that calls for silence prior to confession. Christians should not be so intent to fill our ears with noise, but see the blessing that silence can afford.

For the people of God, silence can be a good thing as we attune our ears not to the absence of sound, but to the Word of God that we have read or heard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in his classic Life Together, “Silence is no longer seen in its essential relationship to the Word, as the simple act of the individual who falls silent under the Word of God…We remain silent solely for the sake of the Word, not thereby to dishonor the Word, but rather to honor and receive it properly. In the end, silence means nothing other than waiting for God’s Word and coming from God’s Word with a blessing.”

The early morning or late evening of the day can provide each Christian with time to turn off the distractions and instead in silence read, meditate on, and pray God’s Word. Little is needed besides a Bible and a quiet spot for a Christian to have a time sit in silence and be strengthened by God’s Word. It is not the silence that some mystical powers, but rather the Word of God that brings comfort and strength, joy and peace. My encouragement is that you not avoid the silence but make the most of the time of silence to be strengthened by the Word of God.

Prayer – Almighty God, our heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ went off by Himself to quiet places to pray, may we be led by His example to avail ourselves of time for meditation on Your Word and prayer during our daily lives so that we may always be guided by You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Fraternally in Christ,

President Lee Hagan