Silence

Keep silent, and let me speak... listen to me; keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom. (Job 33:31-33)

Silence is often associated with deep respect and awe. Courts fall silent as the Judge enters the courtroom, nations fall silent when tragic events occur, and also once a year to remember those who died in war. And of course, as we in the UK know from very recent experience, our nation has fallen silent on several occasions acknowledging the life of one of the greatest monarchs our nation has ever known, Queen Elizabeth II. 

In Revelation 8:1, we read:
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When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

​Although we are not told the reason for this silence, here are some possibilities suggested by gotquestions.org.

1. A sign of deep respect and awe in the presence of the Judge of all the earth. 
2. The result of somber reflection on what has just been revealed. When Jesus Christ breaks the seventh seal, the scroll of God’s judgment is fully revealed for the first time... All heaven remains silent as God’s righteousness is on display. 
3. In a way, the silence in heaven could be seen as the calm before the storm—the storm of final judgment coming upon the heart... Evil has had its day; now the Lord will have His.

We live in a world filled with noise. In our homes we have a multitude of noise emitting gadgets from washing machines to vacuum cleaners, microwaves to electric toothbrushes, radios, hairdryers, the constant hum of fridges. All this before we even step outside to a world filled with aeroplanes, cars, trains, motorbikes, roadworks, building works, etc. And, not forgetting, the mobile phone with a multitude of apps that offer us noise, noise and more noise. 

There is a danger that we can miss something that God wants to do in us as we immerse ourselves ceaselessly in a sea of sound. God would come and speak to us in the silence. It was in times of solitude and silence where Christ communed with His Father. We read in Matthew:

Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. (Matthew 14:22,23)

​It is evident that Jesus valued silence. We are told that He:
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'... frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray’ (Luke 5:16)

Having spent many hours among thronging multitudes, Jesus valued his times of silence and aloneness with His Father.

C H Spurgeon, who suffered deeply from depression most of his adult life said:

'Trusting in Jesus Christ my Saviour, there is still a blessed quietness in the deep caverns of my soul.'

Mother Teresa who worked in the noisy streets of Calcutta said:

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

Pauline Anderson