when God is silent...
Four hundred years had passed. Silence. That's what they heard. Silence. Generations of people came and went, and no one heard a thing. Four hundred years of quite, of stillness, of wondering and forgetting. What was God up to? Where was God? Was He still there? Did He still see them? Four hundred years is a long time.
They had been given a stern warning from Malachi. But, let's be honest, God's people rarely listened. No, they hardly ever listened. Maybe 400 years was what they needed to get the message. Maybe God was tired of speaking and not being heard. I remember when I was in elementary school. The classroom would be filled with uncontrollable noise. Little voices talking over one another as loud as they could, and sometimes the teacher would raise her voice to get our attention. She'd try to speak through the chaos, but we were too loud to hear her voice. Too loud to know what she was saying. We were busy communicating amongst ourselves as if what we had to say was more important than the instructions she was doling out to the group. And after trying everything, shouting, clapping, scolding, she'd stop talking. Silence. She'd sit down. She'd stop talking, and we'd begin to take notice. What was she doing? This wasn't like her. Why would she sit down and stop talking to us? All day long, she stood and she spoke. It was out of character for her to be so quiet, so still. And as our curiosity would peak, we'd start to settle down. The voices would lower. The clamor would settle, and we'd begin turning our attention to her in anticipation of what she might do next.
God needed to get their attention. Since the beginning of time, He had given them instruction after instruction. He had stood before them, His glory filling the mountains, and He had spoken directly to them. Words straight from His mouth, but they never listened. In one ear and out the other because their agenda was more important. Their will took precedence over His. They were too busy bowing down to golden calves, too busy trying to pick a king, too busy trying to return to captivity that they never got the message. Maybe if God was silent, maybe if He did something out of the ordinary, maybe they would open their ears and they would begin to listen.
And so for 400 years God was silent, but just because He was quiet didn't mean He was absent. His silence was not an indicator of a lack of presence. Oh no, God was ever present. He was working and moving, and He was preparing for the next chapter. The next thing He would do. And after 400 years of silence, of not speaking a word, God spoke.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." - John 1:1-2 & 14
Just as God spoke the world into existence in the beginning, after 400 years of silence, He sent the Word. Jesus. The Word that came to give life, abundant life. And wouldn't it be just like God to end the silence with salvation? To go from saying nothing to speaking the word of life? To break though the quiet with a sound of joy and good news?
Sometimes we may not hear His voice. Maybe the silence is too loud. We may be wondering if God is present. What is He doing? But we can be assured that the silence doesn't mean He has stopped working and moving. The silence is temporal. He will speak. And when He does, we'll be amazed at the word. At the very thing He does. Because He is preparing. He using the time. He hasn't forgotten. God has a plan. He's got a purpose.
So wait. Wait on the Lord. Don't waste the wait. Don't give up on God. He hears you. He sees you. He has a word for you.
"Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word." - Psalm 119:37
They had been given a stern warning from Malachi. But, let's be honest, God's people rarely listened. No, they hardly ever listened. Maybe 400 years was what they needed to get the message. Maybe God was tired of speaking and not being heard. I remember when I was in elementary school. The classroom would be filled with uncontrollable noise. Little voices talking over one another as loud as they could, and sometimes the teacher would raise her voice to get our attention. She'd try to speak through the chaos, but we were too loud to hear her voice. Too loud to know what she was saying. We were busy communicating amongst ourselves as if what we had to say was more important than the instructions she was doling out to the group. And after trying everything, shouting, clapping, scolding, she'd stop talking. Silence. She'd sit down. She'd stop talking, and we'd begin to take notice. What was she doing? This wasn't like her. Why would she sit down and stop talking to us? All day long, she stood and she spoke. It was out of character for her to be so quiet, so still. And as our curiosity would peak, we'd start to settle down. The voices would lower. The clamor would settle, and we'd begin turning our attention to her in anticipation of what she might do next.
God needed to get their attention. Since the beginning of time, He had given them instruction after instruction. He had stood before them, His glory filling the mountains, and He had spoken directly to them. Words straight from His mouth, but they never listened. In one ear and out the other because their agenda was more important. Their will took precedence over His. They were too busy bowing down to golden calves, too busy trying to pick a king, too busy trying to return to captivity that they never got the message. Maybe if God was silent, maybe if He did something out of the ordinary, maybe they would open their ears and they would begin to listen.
And so for 400 years God was silent, but just because He was quiet didn't mean He was absent. His silence was not an indicator of a lack of presence. Oh no, God was ever present. He was working and moving, and He was preparing for the next chapter. The next thing He would do. And after 400 years of silence, of not speaking a word, God spoke.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." - John 1:1-2 & 14
Just as God spoke the world into existence in the beginning, after 400 years of silence, He sent the Word. Jesus. The Word that came to give life, abundant life. And wouldn't it be just like God to end the silence with salvation? To go from saying nothing to speaking the word of life? To break though the quiet with a sound of joy and good news?
Sometimes we may not hear His voice. Maybe the silence is too loud. We may be wondering if God is present. What is He doing? But we can be assured that the silence doesn't mean He has stopped working and moving. The silence is temporal. He will speak. And when He does, we'll be amazed at the word. At the very thing He does. Because He is preparing. He using the time. He hasn't forgotten. God has a plan. He's got a purpose.
So wait. Wait on the Lord. Don't waste the wait. Don't give up on God. He hears you. He sees you. He has a word for you.
"Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word." - Psalm 119:37
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