This week I find myself without a voice. I’ve caught the normal cold that seems to be going around right now, yet for one reason or another this illness has not just stolen my health, but has also stolen my words… and that is a new experience for me. If you know me at all, you know I am a talker. I am comfortable talking with just about anyone about almost anything. I love people and I love conversation, so these past couple of days without my words to make conversation happen have been interesting and thought-provoking.
Do you realize how many times a day we use our words? We get up in the morning and say “hello” to those in our household. We go to the gas station to fill up and wish the clerk a good morning as we request $20 on pump 10. We greet our coworkers, make our morning phone calls, and if you’re me, you sing songs to yourself and pray prayers under your breath. All this is what may happen within just the first hour of two of our day! Can you imagine how many words we say in an entire day? My words have become like an appendage to my body and I have grown so used to having them at my disposal that when I no longer have the option of blurting them out freely, I’m left in a bit of a state, wondering what to do.
Then it hit me today. I have spent so much time these past few days trying to force any sound behind my words and seeking out alternate ways to communicate, that I may have missed a wonderful opportunity that the Lord has given me to just listen.
LISTEN. In my fast-paced life, I admit that listening to the Lord, and even to others at times, is not what comes most naturally to me. As I began to think about listening, God brought James 1:19 to mind:
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…” NIV
Everyone? Does that include me? Well, I confess to you my brothers and sisters, I am not as quick to listen as I am to speak. I love to share my thoughts with others, my feelings, and to process the conclusions I have come to. I love to share where I see God at work and what I am excited about. While these are all good things, God has also impressed upon us the importance of giving others, especially God, the space to speak in our lives. This week has revealed to me that this is something I need to strive a bit harder to do.
God brought Exodus 14:14 into my heart today as well:
“The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” ESV
What a promise God makes to Israel here. He will fight for them, they need only to be silent or, as some translations say, to be still. What is God trying to speak to me, do for me, communicate to me that I have been too busy talking to receive? What battles have I been trying to fight on my own due to a lack of listening in stillness? Don’t misunderstand me, I believe the Lord can shout over the loudest chattering that I can do, but I think that often the Lord speaks in the still small voice we see Him use in scripture. Unfortunately, I believe that many times our lack of listening and loud chatter can cause us to miss His precious still small voice.
I am left to conclude that it’s time for me to start practice listening, friends. For as many of you probably do, I desperately long to hear from our Creator, but I often find that my words get in the way. While for the time being my words may be silenced, I know they will return and along with them will come the temptation to be the primary speaker in my life again. Yet, in my absence of words this week I heard that still small voice tell me to give my chatter a rest and spend some time listening to the one who made my voice, who hears my words, and who gives meaning to my little voice. God spoke to me this week through my silence, and it is my prayer brothers and sisters that you too will relinquish your right to your words and wait in the silence for the Lord to speak to and fight for you… without being forced to by the common cold.
-Laura Claus, Associate Pastor
