Zechariah 2:13 – Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
Amos 5:13 – Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.
Psalms 46:10 – Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
The Bible has a lot to say about being silent under troubles and trials. When we go through trials, we show our trust in the Lord by keeping a quiet and mute spirit. When we fight against the trial or use sinful means to try and get out of a trial, we are only making the situation worse. God is trying to teach us to trust and love him unconditionally. God is trying to use the rod of afflictions to correct our behavior. When we fight against it, we are saying we do not trust him. Thomas Brooks in his great work The Mute Christian describes this.
Afflictions are the rod of God’s anger, the rod of his displeasure, and his rod of revenge ; he gives a commission to this rod, to awaken his people, to reform his people, or else to revenge the quarrel of his covenant upon them, if they will not hear the rod, and kiss the rod, and sit mute and silent under the rod…
The Mute Christian – Thomas Brooks
When we are silent under the afflicting hand of God, we are showing that we are a humble servant. We are not showing we trust God and want His mercies more than we want revenge or to settle some quarrel. Having the peace of God is something we need all day long. You will only have that peace when you are submitted to God’s plan for your life. When we are silent, we are not arguing against God and His will for our lives. We simply accept it. We need to be still and know he is God. That ought to be enough.
Let the Lord help you to maintain a holy silence under his afflicting hand. He knows the trials you can handle. He will not tempt you above what you are able. He has the escape already planned. He only wants your love. He wants a submitted sheep that will lay at the shepherds feet and wait patiently for the Him. Do you have a holy, trusting silence? Do you try and not make a fuss when affliction or trials come? Do you patiently wait on the Lord?
One Comment
Great article, very deep and true. I myself have been struggling with this recently and I didn’t even realize I was doing it, thank you so much, I appreciate it.
God bless