Loud Silences

In my devotion today I read the line. “…the silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His words and may be a sign not of His disapproval but of His approval and His way of providing a deeper blessing for you.” Well, that made me sit and think for a good while.

I like conversation and long detailed explanations so this required more than a moment of thought. Jesus often used parables to make His points, but now that we find ourselves down to the wire with time being what it is in these last days, “ain’t nobody got time for that,” so I’ll cut to the chase.

When He’s silent, it’s not because He’s trying to punish us but because He wants us think. Some of us want a roadmap and for someone to explain everything to us so we can blame them if it doesn’t work out the way we want it to. Jesus wants us to walk by faith and a lot of common sense. After all, His Word is an instruction manual and if we spend as much time reading it as we talk about reading it, we’ll have a pretty good idea of what to do most of the time. When we spend time with Him, He will gently nudge us away from or towards the things that are unsafe or safe for us. After a while, we’ll begin to develop a knowing about which way to turn. It’s what happens when you’re in a relationship with someone, a deep abiding relationship versus a shallow one. And with Him, there are real blessings attached, like long life, peace, health – starting to get the picture?

If you’ve ever watched a toddler and their mother, there is an unspoken language, usually involving the eyes and a nod of the head. There aren’t many words exchanged unless the child is in a very testy mood, but if they’ve had a consistent kind of handling, call it discipline, they come to know when mom means business and when she’s feeling playful. It’s the same way with Jesus. He corrects those He loves and will rule with a strong hand and reward obedience every time. His smiles are generous and His laughter is like a river. That’s blessing enough to keep me in line. What about you?