Choosing Silence
“Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.” Job 6:24
Insight
If I had enemies, the worst place I could banish them would be inside my mind. It is a place that demonstrates the absence of silence. If I am breathing, my thoughts are racing. Some days the thoughts are worried and stressed. Other times, they are fun, exciting, or even random. Regardless, the search for silence is a daily one for me. I long for silence because it is rest, but for some silence is deafening.
Silence gives our brains enough time to catch up to the thoughts and memories we try to avoid. We attempt to fill every minute with noise and distraction. Escaping our thoughts was easy in our once fast-paced life, but in this current season, we have all the time in the world to slow down and think. So, what beauty do we gain in silence? It’s in silence where we actually take the time to listen.
Today’s verse comes from Job, a guy who learned the power of silence firsthand. He was a man of wealth who possessed a great deal of money, land, and animals. Job also had a huge family. As his story unfolds, we find out God gave Satan permission to test Job. Satan argued with God and told Him that the only reason Job served God so well was because Job had so much. Satan’s argument was that if Job got stripped of everything but God, that Job’s true colors would come out. God knew Job’s heart and so God gave Satan permission to take everything from Job.
Job’s three friends came alongside him and begged him to repent. They believed Job was facing these trials because of some unforgiven, unconfessed sin. Their words were cutting deep into Job. I can imagine Job filled with anger, confusion, frustration, stress, and impatience because he knew he did not deserve this.
Job wrestled with the same question that we do: “Why is this happening to me?” Job felt as though what was happening to him was not fair, much like a lot of us. The natural reaction would be to defend ourselves. We would take the time to develop a list of our great qualities, accolades, and accomplishments and we would try to convince God that maybe He had forgotten about all of those great things we did. Job believed his complaint was just. What had Job done aside from serving the Lord?
Despite justifying his complaint, Job’s next response is found in our verse today: silence. Job decided that silence would provide him the opportunity to listen. In silence, Job wanted to hear the voice of the One who can allow him to understand his circumstances. Job wanted to be silent in order to hear from the One who created him, the One who would later remind Job that God restores (Job 42:10). In fact, when we see the account of Job wrap up, he makes an incredible statement of what he learned about God: “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).
Job came to this truth about God by choosing the uncomfortable place of silence. When he drowned out all other voices and justifications, he was able to hear God. This is a reminder that you and I need every single day: that we walk with a God who restores. No matter how much loss or gain we experience, we have a God who restores, and a God who can do all things. Choosing silence means choosing to listen. The voice we need to hear has a purpose for everything.
Reflection
How do you respond to silence? What do you hear when the noise disappears?
How can you lean into God’s presence being in the silence and let His voice breakthrough?
Prayer
Father, thank you for being a God who restores in such an incredible way. What comfort and hope comes from walking with the One who can restore all things. I am also grateful that You are a God who meets me in the silence. When everything else fades away, I have nothing to fear because You are with me, and You are speaking. In moments of silence, may I truly listen to what You have to say. I love You Father, and pray all of this in Your holy name, Amen.
Port City writer Davy Nance wrote today’s devotional.
