God in the Silence

Silence in the In-Betweens

Psalm 83:1-4  O God, do not be silent!  Do not be deaf.  Do not be quiet, O God.  Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies?  Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up?  They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones.  “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation.  We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”

Isaiah 57:11 “Are you afraid of these idols?  Do they terrify you?  Is that why you have lied to me and forgotten me and my words?  Is it because of my long silence that you no longer fear me?"

Psalm 50:16-23 But God says to the wicked:  “Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant?  For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash.  When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers.  Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies.  You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother’s son.  While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care.  But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you.  Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.  But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.  If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

Silence in the Grave

Isaiah 38:18 For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise.  Those who go down to the grave can no longer hope in your faithfulness.

 Psalm 94:17-19 Unless the Lord had helped me,  I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.  I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.  When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

Silence of Jesus

Matthew 26:62-63a Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?”  But Jesus remained silent.

Matthew 27:12-14 But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.  “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded.  But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.  And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

Matthew 27:46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Silence in Heaven

Revelation 8:1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour.

Finding God in the Silence

1 Kings 19:11-12  “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

Isaiah 30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.  In quietness and confidence is your strength. … “

“True friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable.” ~ David Tyson Gentry

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God!   I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world.”