THERE ARE MOMENTS WHEN SILENCE CARRIES WEIGHT

Some weeks after writing my Senior School Certificate Examination (there was quite some free time that allowed my teenage mind to experiment), I was riding a motorcycle on our street. It belonged to a friend who came to visit.

While taking some laps on the street, I had a fall. That very moment, our doctor was passing by. He looked at me on the floor, he smiled and did not utter a word. He went on with his business. Many things ran through my mind, “If the man that will treat you when you have an accident smiles at your fall, you must be careful”. That was the end of the ride for that day.

There are times when silence means a whole lot more and the weight can be felt.

Friends, the silence of God can be a warning for the believer. In my little walk with God, I have learned that there are times the Holy Spirit goes quiet on the believer. For instance, when I keep arguing an instruction, there can be silence. At times, if I insist on having my way, there can be silence.

Do not wait for the silence of the Holy Spirit as your teacher before you wake up. For instance, King Saul sought to hear the Lord but the Lord has gone silent on him because he had perpetually shown that he was never going to obey the Lord.

He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots, or by the prophets.

And when he tried everything he could, he went to consult a medium who invoked a familiar spirit. You can sense the trauma in Saul’s voice:

“Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?” Samuel asked Saul. “Because I am in deep trouble,” Saul replied. “The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do.”
1 Samuel 28:6‭, ‬15 NLT

Do not keep digging when you are meant to repent. If you realize that God has gone quiet on you, pause and think. Do not keep at the actions that made heaven withdraw its hands. It means it is time for you to rethink and retrace your steps.

Silence is not necessarily proof that all is well. If your spouse goes quiet, you know something is wrong. Also, if you have lived with babies, you know that when you do not hear them, it is better you check on them, something must be going wrong already- spilled powder, flooded bathroom, soaked gadgets, or torn documents.

In the same way, silence in warfare can mean that something terrible is going wrong, has gone wrong, or is about to go wrong.

Be careful when fellowship is broken. Be sensitive when it has been a while you heard from the Lord. Take a retreat. Trace your instructions. Check your obedience. Do not carry on like it is normal.

Come close. Let me ask you a question: When last did you hear from the Lord? Did you obey? Have you moved on in stubbornness? Watch it!

temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa