The confrontation of silence
By Dean Collins
Silence is hard to describe and sometimes difficult to experience. For some, silence seems to lead to desperation. In silence others see themselves in ways that make them uncomfortable. But some who dare to confront silence find new ideas and even hope. It seems that in our fast-paced, technology-equipped world, we don’t spend much time in silence. The noise of our lives makes sitting in silence nearly impossible.
Most mornings I start the day in a chair in the darkness and in silence. The crickets have stopped their scraping then, before the sun begins to brighten my room, and birds have yet to greet each other. In the silence I sit and read Scripture and wonder if Scripture was created in muted moments like these.
God’s Word was probably first spoken by prophets of old outside in a world with far less noise than ours. Over and over Jesus retreated to the silence. And when he emerged, he many times told stories and taught curious listeners outside by the seashore, in a garden, at the foot of a mountain. There is something powerful about the combination of silence and nature.
Quiet before God
Isaiah challenged his audience to be quiet before God. He told them of God’s judgment for choosing idols over God, but also offered hope for the moment when relief and release from judgment and captivity would come: “Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment.”
The coastlands of the Mediterranean Sea, along with every distant land, are invited to the silence. But in this silence there will be a confrontation with God. If you have leaned on and trusted in man-made idols for salvation and deliverance, then prepare your evidence for how they have helped you. In this silence it will be God and you flanked by your idols and equipped with your arguments.
Questions to Answer
There will be questions to answer in the silence. It is always so, but we often do not want to hear the questions or evaluate the weaknesses of our arguments, so we avoid the confrontation completely.
Isaiah presents God’s questions and rehearses God’s history for the one willing to participate in the silence.
It would soon be obvious to those who heard the prophet that their man-made idols offer nothing compared to the God of Abraham. Abraham’s God has come through, time after time, while their lifeless wooden or silver toy has given nothing.
Abraham’s God has come through, time after time,
while our lifeless wooden or silver toy has given nothing.
If we are willing to bring our philosophy books, our political parties, our advocacy organizations into the silence, God wants to meet us there. And in the silence let’s listen to how they compare to almighty God. In the silence we can compare their ability to deliver us against what God has done and what he promises he will yet do.
If we listen, we will hear God speak through the silence.
The exiles would see their deliverance. The world would see a Savior. We will see deliverance and complete restoration. We can strive for salvation through our man-made ways or accept it from the hands of God. It’s a choice we will have to make in the silence. In the noise we will never hear the voice of God.
Try the silence. It will be frightening at first, but you will never regret it.
Your time with God’s Word
Photo by Bailey Torres on Unsplash
