Tag Archives: silence

Silent Treatment

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The prophet Malachi wrote the last word of the Old Testament sometime around 430 B.C. Then came four centuries of silence. No prophets spoke, no predictions were proclaimed, no judgements were called down on the wicked, no blessings were promised to the faithful. 

Nothing. 

Silence.

Most Bibles have a blank page between the Old and New Testaments. It’s there for a reason. Turn that page — and voila! — four hundred years have passed. A lot happened in the world during those forty decades. Empires rose and fell, wars were fought, discoveries were made.

But God didn’t speak.

It’s astounding that God’s people continued to watch and hope and pray for centuries. Somehow, each generation kept handing down the instruction: Wait. He will speak again.

Then He did. 

His first word after all those long years was,

“Waaaahhhhh.” 

He cried. 

The priests weren’t prepared for a baby’s wail. They expected God to sound more like a thundering voice coming out of smoke and fire. So they missed it. If we’re not careful, we could miss it, too.

Lord, give us ears to hear Your voice this Advent,
in whatever way You choose to speak.

It’s Time

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Sometime this summer, this old clock stopped ticking.

Actually, it’s not an old clock.  It’s a $5.99 clock from Ikea.

I remember the day it happened.

One of my grands dipped it in the bathtub until the 5, 6, and 7 were drowning.

I dried it off and set it back on my desk, but the ticker was silent.

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I guess you could say that sometime this summer, I kinda stopped ticking, too.

I don’t know when it happened.

Maybe I was drowning in funerals (5) and weddings (6) and fun activities (at least 7).

I allowed myself to be silent for awhile.

Today I picked up that clock, wiped off the soap scum, twirled those hands around, and gave it a shake.

 The ticking returned! The rhythm is back!

My clock came back to life!

So I figure it’s telling me to do the same —

dust off the dander, limber up my hands, and breath some life back into small drop.

May the click of ideas and the rhythm of words return.

It’s time.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Long Time, No Hear

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listeningSome of my friendly blog buddies have been wondering if I am just now “coming to” after the twin news.  I admit, the announcement did leave me speechless for a while.  But actually, the silence here at Small Drop has been a bit of an experiment.  What happens when I stop writing…or posting….or speaking?  Do people stop reading….or logging on….or listening?  How long are we willing to wait to hear from someone?

How about 400 years?  Malachi wrote the last word of the Old Testament sometime around 430 B.C.   Then came four centuries of silence.  No prophets spoke, no predictions were proclaimed, no judgements were called down on the wicked, no blessings were promised to the faithful.  Nothing.  Silence.

Four hundred years ago it was 1512.  Martin Luther was in seminary and Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel.  What if we had not heard from God since 1512?  It’s remarkable that the story even survived.  It’s astounding that God’s people continued to wait and hope and pray.  Somehow, each generation kept handing down the directive: Wait.  God will speak again.

Then He did.  His first word after all those long years was, “Waaaahhhhh.”  He cried.  The priests weren’t expecting a baby’s wail.  They were sure it would sound more like a thundering voice coming out of smoke and fire, “Thus saith the Lord.”  So they missed it.

That’s what I love about God — He keeps me on my toes.  Just when I think I figure Him out, He does something wild and unexpected.

My experiment with silence on the blog confirmed my suspicions, as each day fewer and fewer people stopped by.  And then something wild and unexpected happened.  Yesterday, after all those days of no posts, hundreds visited Small Drop for my biggest day ever.  Figuring things out is highly overrated.  Being surprised is much more fun.

Lord, I welcome Your surprises.  Go ahead and say or do what I’m not expecting.  Just don’t let me miss it.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.  Hebrews 1:1