Breaking the Silence With a Call to Silence

For days I have come to sit in front of my computer. I have this great desire to write some profound thing that will be a help to my friends and family and especially the South Hills Baptist Fellowship church family. I have this sense of urgency because of the pandemic sweeping the world as well as the serious disruption to the lives of so many millions of people who won’t get the Coronavirus but whose lives have been seriously disrupted for the sake of “flattening the curve.” That urgency is met with a deep affection for people, especially those the Lord has given me to serve as his undershepherd. That affection is met by a sense of duty as I see so many others speaking and writing wisely and compassionately to the broader body of Christ and to their local congregations. Some teachers have even exhorted me that, having the Scripture, I will never be without wisdom to pass on to the church. But I sit. I sit unmoving in front of this screen without anything to say. Everything I have to say has been said, by others, in clearer and more profound ways than I can express.

So I pray. I pray for the Lord to draw near. I worry about so many things. I worry about the sick and dying. I worry about their families. I wonder about the government’s decisions and the unintended consequences that seem to cause more pain and hardship than is necessary. I consider the impact on my wife and my children. I am concerned for the stress this puts on our church. We are separated, divided not just by distance but by opinion of how to deal with these circumstances. What can I say to the sick and dying, the government nationally and locally, to my family, to our church. I don’t have words. I sit here. And I pray.

Today I read:

Psalm 62:1-8 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. (2) He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. (3) How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? (4) They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah (5) For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. (6) He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. (7) On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. (8) Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

And that is the irony. After days like this, It is time to break my silence with a call to silence. This is a call to resist the urge to have the answer. This is a call to put your hand over your mouth and silence your thoughts. It is a call to seek the Lord. So let me stop writing. You stop reading and scrolling. Let us be quiet for a while and listen to God. In Him rests our salvation and glory. He is our rock and refuge. Trust Him. Pour out your heart to Him.