Have you ever heard the saying, silence is golden? That means that, sometimes, it is better not to speak. This daily devotional looks at how God wants disciples of Christ to gain silence in our souls.
Nuggets
- Silence is a natural cycle.
- Silence of the tongue doesn’t mean nothing is happening.
- Learning to govern our tongues to be silent when needed will help us.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Silence of the Soul series
We don’t like silence these days. We play devices so that we can have noise going.
Silence isn’t golden anymore. We keep talking and talking to get our points across.
God says that we should be silent so that we can listen to Him. Let’s dig into what He has to say.
Let's Put It into Context
Our soul is our spiritual part that is immortal. The mind is a component of the soul that controls our will. It is in our minds that we process and make judgments and decisions.
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Mastering the Ebb and Flow of Silence
“A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecc. 3: 7 ESV)
Silence is a natural cycle.
Ecclesiastes 3 is a familiar passage in Scriptures. Even some who do not attend services regularly know of this passage.
It talks about cycles. There is a normal ebb and flow to the world around us: spring follows winter, summer follows spring – and so on and so on. Each has its own time.
Speaking has its time – but then, so does silence.
What this tells me is that silence should not have less of a value than speaking.
The Homilist tells us of three kinds of silence.
- Silence of emotional fullness
- Silence of resignation.
- Silence of self respect.
Resource
It is easy to get choked up when we get emotional. As much as we may want to speak, the words just won’t come.
The examples the Homilist used for resignation were those of people standing silently before God. I doubt being called to the principal’s office when we were kids would hold a candle to the fear and trembling we would be experiencing in front of Almighty God.
Jesus provided us an example of self respect. He silently stood before his accusers, confident in his mission, willing to be our Savior.
Mastering a Working Silence
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (Jas. 1: 19 ESV)
Silence of the tongue doesn’t mean nothing is happening.
We sometimes tend to focus on what comes out of our mouths — our opinions, our judgments, and our values. God wants us to simmer down.
God wants us to focus on Him. By doing that, we can hear what He has to tell us.
Hearing has two products. We are slow to speak and slow to anger.
Thomas pointed out that what we listen to matters. It needs to be “… the pure, the generous, [and] the true.”
Resource
The listening makes us docile — teachable. That is what God wants.
Devotions in the The Beatitudes Show Us How to be Docile series
God wants to be able to change us to reflect His character. He wants us to follow the Holy Spirit’s instructions when we navigate the Sanctification Road.
Isn’t that what it is all about? We can’t hear the Holy Spirit’s promptings when we are too busy running at the mouth. Listening and not talking is a major component of success on the Sanctification Road.
Glossary
I really don’t think, like Thomas pointed out, that James was talking about how quickly the words came out of the speaker’s mouth. It is the thoughtfulness behind the utterances.
To me, it all ties up with the free will. Free will is the ability within us to make decisions, which determine actions that produce character.
God isn’t a dictator. He doesn’t make decrees and expect us to blindly follow them.
Instead, God wants us to make conscious, informed decisions as to whether or not we are going to ABCD. Yes, we have an option to reject the Plan of Salvation.
In order to make that informed decision, we have to actively listen to God. We have to let Him lead.
That is part of the problem with talking, isn’t it? We are always leading when we are talking.
Yep, that is where we like to be — in control.
I guess we have circled around to what our major obstacle in not talking is. We don’t want to give up control.
Jones pointed out that this verse talks about being both slow and swift at the same time. What I think James is getting at here is that we need to be balanced.
Resource
Think about it. If we are always talking and never listening, chances are we are going to get angry if we don’t get our way.
God calls us to be sober. Sober is a character trait distinguished by self-control, genuineness, and sound moral judgment. It is a calm and temperate disposition.
We may not be calm if we are clamoring to be heard.
But don’t take this to the other extreme. Do not read this to say that we should not talk at all. It means that we should speak judiciously. We should speak so that people say, “When you do speak, I know it’s something worth listening to.”
Jones also reminded us where this verse was in relation to the previous verses. James is a book all about perseverance when experiencing trials.
James 1: 17 just told us that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (CSB). See, if he could say this in the midst of trials, he thought they were spa days, too!
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Paisley made a pretty good point. He noted that the ear, tongue, and heart make a good trifecta in impacting the conduct of mankind. Our heart governs it, but it is influenced with what we do or don’t do with the ear and tongue.
What is the purpose of all of this? James goes on in the next verse and said, “for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness” (Jas. 1: 20 CSB).
Resource
That is what it is all about — God’s kingdom work. It is about finding lost souls and introducing them to the Savior.
And how instrumental are the ear and tongue for kingdom work? Those lost souls will not know the Savior if they do not use their ears to hear what we teach them with our tongues.
We are only sent off to witness to the lost after we are equipped. We need to be taught, also.
That can be interesting, sometimes. We know God has that still, small voice He uses. Then, He may take His time talking.
Other times, we may think we know what God is trying to tell us and steer us toward. But it ends up, we don’t have a clue.
All of that means that we have to listen carefully when God speaks to us. We need to focus on what He is teaching us.
Thomas and Paisley both said that following the instructions in this verse should keep us free of prejudice. Thomas felt like it was because we are teachable.
Mastering the Governance of Silence
“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble” (Prov. 21: 23 ESV)
Learning to govern our tongues to be silent when needed will help us.
Nolan reminded us that two of the Ten Commandments deal with issues of the tongue.
- “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Ex. 20: 7 ESV).
- “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20: 16 ESV).
Nolan went on to explain why the breaking of these commandments is critical. He wrote, “A careless, unreflecting use of the holy name betrays a trifling and unstable heart. But with reference to his neighbour, the Christian has the greatest need of caution as to the government of his tongue. What irreparable injury a severe remark, whether carelessly or wickedly whispered against the character of another, is sure to produce.”
Resource
The Homilist gave us a list of what troubles we bring when we do not learn to silence our tongues.
- Moral and social trouble on ourselves
- Trouble on others
Resource
The Homilist made a great point. We control our tongues. It doesn’t work on its own.
That means we can self-discipline ourselves to govern our tongues. Oh, yes, it will be hard, but we will not do it alone. We can’t self-discipline without God.
Making the Connections
God wants us to be swift to hear and obey His call to salvation. We don’t want to be too late.
We will all get the opportunity to obey God’s call. We don’t want to deny Him.
We want to swiftly ABCD.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
How Do We Apply This?
We need to
- Recognize God as Sovereign God.
- Grow in grace and knowledge.
- Not just learn but to be eager to learn.
- Continue to be swift to hear because we still have much to learn.
- Be consistent in our attendance with like-minded believers.
- Bury ourselves in His Word.
Resource
Silence and hearing must be linked, especially when we are listening to God. We must speak of Him to others. In short, we must follow His Will.
Father God. The chaos of this world can drown You out. Some of that noise is coming from us. Focus us to look solely to You. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.