Though my keyboard has been silent in this venue for a bit longer than I would like, it is not due to lack of something to say. Indeed I have had something to shout! This time of silence has shown me how silence is golden.

As best we know the full version of the proverb states something like, “Speech is silver, but silence is golden.” It is thought to have come from ancient Egypt. There are times when proverbs are heard, in part, and not fully applied. It also occurs that one might place a particular meaning to the same proverb in various circumstances.

Acquaintances, at times have reported to me that I am quiet. Others who know me more intimately would disagree. Certainly those closest to me may believe that I should dial it back at times. No offense taken at either of those statements. It probably indicates that I too am human, and imperfect.

Nothing to Say?

Here I find it nourishing to express myself. In this forum, one can read, or not. One can read a portion or all, some or none. I have been unable to post for a few months. It is not because there was nothing to say, on the contrary there has been much to comment about.

Globally: earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, lack of provisions, loss of possessions, economic challenges,  homelessness, death, illness, wellness, health, and diverse weather conditions. Personally: new beginnings, greater understanding, abundance, transitions, loss, gain, stress and relief. Much has happened over the past several months.

I believe you can readily see the good, the bad and the ugly that resides in your world these days too. If you have not been touched directly with part of the tragedy which is looming around this world, then you know one or more people who have been and are being greatly impacted.

During this time I have especially been focused on what it is I need to say or do. I have asked God to show me what it is He wants me to speak of here. For a long period there was what I believed to be silence. I spent some time listening. More time was occupied by distractions. Life got in the way of my regular Bible Study, and devotional time. I was not in direct communication with God as often. Full disclosure; I allowed myself to be distracted.

Asked and Answered

What I chose to read as God’s silence was my choice to not include Him in His proper place in my life.  I had allowed other concerns to be in the forefront of my mind. Thereby giving Him room in a lesser spot in the queue than The Almighty God requires. Yet even as I thought I stretched my ears to hear Him, I failed to draw closer to Him. He could only here silence. I was aware that He knew I was asking and confident He possessed the answers. Not hearing what I deemed as the appropriate answers I kept listening and asking.

I was attempting to apply silence is golden to my situation. I began trying to figure out how this silence was golden I began to see the many ways that God has talked to me in the past. I reminisced to examine the times when I believed Him to have been silent. The silence began to cause my ears to ring with His love. God is love. His love for us is expressed through the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. By His definition, in His word we are told what the attributes of love are in 1 Corinthians 13:4 through 8-b.

I heard Him speak to me clearly through the silence. Silence is golden.  He is always talking to us. I am now certain He was talking to me consistently, even as I asked I heard, but I failed to listen, at first. Everything about Him is good, even what I read as His silence, is golden.

One and Only

Early in the Bible, when God dealt with Moses, we are instructed to have no other God before Him. None in the form of graven images. Although the word speaks of many customs of the time, including sacrifice to molten images, the principle is clear. No other Gods will be before Him.

Jealous

The words also express that Gods name is jealous in Exodus 34:14. In several places, He has told us in His word that He is a jealous God. We sometimes think of jealousy as a petty emotion. In 1Corinthians 11:2 we are plainly informed of His Godly jealousy. Jealousy has to do with one wanting something that rightfully belongs to them. Do we belong to Him because of the sacrifice of His son?  Do we belong to Him because we were made in His image? Do we believe the Bible?

Serving Two Masters

If it is your understanding that it is alright with God for you to allow life, as it were, to cause you to forget about Him, leaving only a place in your life after actions that involve the pursuit of riches, think again. He has told us that we cannot serve two masters. We are unable to have a 9 to 5 God, a worship day God and a whenever I need Him to be first God. His economy does not work in that manner.

What I found, or rather reintroduced myself to, as if clasped with outstretched palm was, God is never silent. His voice is always available to us through His written word the Bible. We have access through the rhema word He has given us in the past.

When is Silence Golden?

Silence is golden when we are able to bring ourselves closer to God and His kingdom work. It is golden when we can unplug from the many distractions of this noisy world, with its numerous, deafening sounds of confusion, bereft of love.

Please share with me some of the ways you have come to realize silence is golden. Let us break the silence of what God’s love has done in our lives. Help others to get to know Him too.

Take Inventory and Take Action!

Love,

Deborah

“Lighting the path to loving your neighbor as yourself.”