How do you handle silence? When I first became a stay at home mom, I used to cry because I missed people. I am a people person. I need people, but over time I learned the value of my quiet time. I would define quiet time as I am alone, but I am at quiet rest before God. I am in communication with Him. I discovered that my quiet time makes me healthy and ready8th to love others well. So now, I actually crave quiet time, but silence is different. Silence holds no input. No communication. True silence is devastating.
Have you ever dealt with someone giving you the silence treatment? It hurts because healthy input or communication has ceased. We all need healthy input. Did you know there is a silence lab called Orfield Laboratory and it is said that the longest a person has stayed in the room and come out sane is only 45 minutes? I always wonder, who would be willing to test their sanity? Who wants to do that? It is said that silence doesn't make us crazy, it only reveals our crazy. It actually allows us time to process our stuff because we no longer have other input to process. The absence of input or communication causes madness to be revealed. Maybe, this is why I talk to myself all the time!
I have pondered the isolation of COVID and the devastating affects it has had on people. For many, it is a disease that threw them into silence. This led to devastation. They had to confront their stuff and discovered they had not built into their lives healthy quiet time to strengthen them for their times of silence.
As I ponder Wednesday of Easter week some 2,000 years ago and that it is known as the day of silence, I wonder if God allowed this holy heavenly pause because it would reveal the crazy within a select few. No stories are recorded on this day from Jesus' journey to the cross. Historically, it has been chosen to be the day we remember Judas' betrayal. I find it ironic that we choose to remember this sad story on the day of silence. It is so somber because Judas was a faithful follower of Jesus, but his actions revealed that he was not a follower of Jesus spiritually. Judas agreed to betray Jesus for just thirty shekels. It is estimated to be about $600 today. Talk about crazy. An innocent man's life was sold for $600 by a follower to a religious leader. This made me wonder if Judas allowed silence to be in his relationship instead of building quiet connection. Remember, silence has no input while quiet allows for the give and take of communication. I realize if not Judas then it would have been someone else in order to fulfill God's will for the cross, but I still wonder. This then causes me to wonder at all the ways that I can bring quiet instead of silence in my relationships. I know this is not the crux of this story, but this is one way it causes me to want to be transformed and that ultimately is the crux of why Jesus died on the cross. It was so we can be in relationship with Him and thereby live transformed lives. As I get my relationship right with Him in my quiet times, I am better at relationship with others. Wholeness can be revealed in me in the moments of silence instead of crazy.
As you listen to today's Easter story, consider whether you have a quiet time with the LORD or do you allow silence to separate you? Start a simple conversation like, "Hey, LORD, can you help me with this? I don't want there to be silence between us. I would like to communicate. I don't know how, but I am open." God will begin communicating with you. Tell Him about your crazy and ask Him to help you. He promises if we seek Him, we will find Him. Shalom y'all!
It is a sad, somber story. Click on the link below.
Easter Wednesday: The Day of SilenceFather, I lift up all the people who feel alone, isolated, and in a place of silence. Please, Oh God, meet them in a quiet place that reveals the glorious healing and rest you give. In Jesus name amen!
