-Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 7b, NIV
God thinks He is very funny. Seriously; He asks me to do something that seems crazy, and I roll my eyes toward heaven and say, "You want me to do what?" And He laughs at me. Not in a patronizing or condescending way, but in a knowing way, with a twinkle in his eye. I love God; even when He's laughing at me. I smile.
In March I began a daily Bible reading plan that will take me through the Bible in a year; I've done this before, with a New International Version, so this time I decided to act upon the advice of a guest speaker to my Ministry Formation class and read the Bible as if I had never read it before. To accomplish this, I chose to take my daily readings from The Message. It's been refreshing, to say the least. I was working through the book of Exodus when I came across the passage that describes Israel's crossing of the Red Sea (the end of chapter 13 and all of chapter 14, if you're interested).
To preface, God has just brought the entire nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt in spectacular fashion, and they've encamped at Pi Hahiroth (I know, cool name) as instructed. No sooner have they done this than Pharaoh decides to pursue the Israelites in the hope of recapturing them; this presents something of a problem, as the Israelites have encamped at a place hemmed in by the sea--there is nowhere to run. Terrified, the people hurl angry and desperate accusations at Moses and bemoan what they believe to be their certain death. Reading Moses' response to their cries astounded me; for several minutes my eyes were fixed on this verse:
"The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent."
-Exodus 14:14, NASB
What a strange piece of advice. Though their situation was desperate, the Israelites were instructed neither to flee nor to fight, but to be quiet and wait for what God was about to do. And God did it--He parted the waters of the Red Sea and brought the nation of Israel through on dry ground. When the Egyptians attempted to pursue them, God crushed them with the collapsing walls of water. Moses and Miriam wrote a song about it (chapter 15, if you're interested).
So... what does this story have to do with me? This story spoke to my heart, because for me, this is a summer about trusting God; trusting Him to do what I cannot. Trusting Him to bring me through. Through careful self-examination and much prayer, my fiance and I have decided to keep seventy days of silence as far as the other is concerned; we're each going to seek God's will, being quiet and waiting before Him, while having no contact with each other at all. It's day three... and already ridiculously hard. God's instructions don't seem to make much sense; but I know that He is fighting for us. We love because He first loved us... and just for a little while, God wants each of us all to Himself; He has something that He wants to say.
When I was thinking about writing this blog post, I was reminded of another passage of Scripture, this one from 1 Kings (chapters 18 and 19 provide context). To preface, Elijah has been pursued and harried by the murderous pagan queen, Jezebel, and has fled from her into the wilderness. In desperation, Elijah begs God to let him die in the desert; however, God has other plans. He sends Elijah to stand before Him on Mount Horeb, telling him only that He is about to pass by.
"As the LORD was passing by, a fierce wind tore mountains and shattered rocks ahead of the LORD. But the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the LORD wasn't in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire. But the LORD wasn't in the fire. And after the fire there was a quiet, whispering voice."
-1 Kings 19:11b-12, GW
For what must have seemed to Elijah to be an eternity, God's coming was heralded by the resounding clamor of the forces of nature. But it was into the stillness after the storm, into the silence, that God finally spoke. I imagine that the prophet's ears must have been ringing, his pulse pounding, after that terrifying display. And yet his ears were pricked; he was listening intently, and he heard the quiet, whispering voice when at last it came. Oh, that I would be so attentive to the voice of God! Oh, that I should be able to say, as the prophet Samuel did when he was only a boy:
"Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
-1 Samuel 3:9b, NASB
What does it mean to listen to the voice of God? During this season of silence, I am devoting myself to answering that question. I am immersing myself in Scripture this summer, reading and memorizing. I am reading a lot of good Christian books by authors new and old. I am listening to good music. I am going to church a lot. I am working on growing and developing my relationships. I am seeking opportunities to serve. But mostly I am trying to quiet my heart and be still before God. He is about to do something great. I have no doubt that these seventy days will grow and change me in ways I cannot even begin to imagine.
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on Your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
("You Raise Me Up," by Selah)
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