Oct 30th, 2020: Silence as an Act of Worship


I came across this picture on my Instagram a few days ago, and it makes me think about the nature of our silence. We have to encounter a lot of noise in our world, and silence is a rare experience. Our society is also afraid of silence because we see silence as rejection. People use the phrase "silence treatment" with a negative connotation. We cannot even have a moment of silence in the church because our worship is full of noise at times. Sometimes I wonder how we can hear God at all.

Silence is an expression of our longing heart for God's presence. It cries out to God for what it doesn't understand. The silent heart is not angry. It desires to identify with God in dealing with the suffering of the world. It wants to listen to God's heart. Silence requires tremendous personal discipline because it has no room for self-justification.

Silence is an expression of our obedient heart. It proclaims: "Speaks Oh Lord, your servant is listening". It wants to discover God's plan for the world. It feels the joy of being with God and for God. The obedient heart does not need to explain itself. It is inviting God to stay and dwell within it. Silence creates a lot of room for us to be open in our responses to God's guidance.

Silence is an expression of our joyful heart. It wants to immerse itself in the merciful love of God. It engages God's revelation in the world with all of its devotion. The joyful heart will always find room to praise God. It is the kind heart and doesn't look for faults in others. It understands redemption, and it is willing to learn to embrace others.

Psalm 62: 5: “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”
Psalm 46: 10: “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Habakkuk 2:20: "The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."

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