I don’t know about you, but for years I struggled with silence. Maybe it was partially because I grew up in a busy home with lots of people in it and silence wasn’t really a thing. Or it could be because I have some combination of ADD or ADHD or one of those other acronyms. It might also be that for the longest time, I wasn’t comfortable with my own thoughts. My mind can be a messy and confusing place. But I heard something today that wasn’t a new idea to me, but certainly hit a little different. Life does that a lot.
If you’re familiar with the book of Esther in the Bible, you might remember that God is never actually mentioned. This fabulous story is told in ten relatively brief chapters. Many times in the pages, we read about coincidences or ironic situations that lack any rational explanation. The author has brilliantly written with the plan of the reader needing to hear in the silence or see what doesn’t appear to be there. Now THAT will preach!
More times than I care to count, I’ve scratched my head in confusion. Just as many times, I’ve strained to hear when it seemed there was radio silence. And even today, I might have shed a tear trying to make sense of senselessness.
That’s the book of Esther (and often our life) in a nutshell. Putting trust in a God we can’t actually see with our eyes or hear with our ears is an invitation. It often seems like a scary or sketchy invitation, but it’s an invitation nonetheless. To place our hope and trust in this amazing God and His providence is such beautiful freedom. It removes our responsibility to feel like we need to be in control. It sends us back to His Word, where we find reminders of His promises. It allows us to simply sit in the silence and hear Him.
I think that’s the season I’m in. So if you need to find me, this is where I’ll be. My Bible, my notebooks, my highlighters, and all the things. Sitting on the porch. Trying to hear in the silence what I also can’t see. But fully trusting that He’s right here with me. With my friends, Melissa and LeeAnn. With my boys. I just know it! So I won’t stop listening and looking.