Day 8

“Hey Dad, did you know that silent and listen are spelled the same way?” Noah Dahir


I have always known that my children say some profound things and this particular thing Noah said did not mean much to me until I woke up last night dreaming about it. One of my biggest questions to the Lord during this season of life has to do with His silence. Why does it seem that days will go by without any direction from the Lord? It is in these times that the quietness becomes so daunting and life begins to feel like a ghost town. Yes, there are friends that check on us, and people in our lives that show concern; however, the only fix for this silence is the voice of God. He doesn’t need to say much. I just need to know that He is still there and what next step I should take.

When I dreamt about this conversation I felt that the Lord wanted me to see that it was Him speaking through my son. It wasn’t just one of those random conversations that my son plucked out of the air and spoke. The Lord wanted me to know that the silent times have great importance. For without these moments when the air is stilled and the distraction of extra noise is at bay, I would not have the ability to listen to the still small voice of God. During this last season, it has been easy to see the fingerprints of God on our life and I am thankful for Him leaving us small breadcrumbs reminding us that He is around, but I only have few recollections of hearing from Him directly. It does seem that He has been silent. Like a host that has invited you into the house, and although He is taking care of every need you might have, your true hope is to be able to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with this person who has invited you to stay at their manor.

I am trying to be patient, endure the silence, and put my focus on listening to the Lord. This is not easy and yet I know that if I just focus on living for Him moment by moment, when He does speak, His voice will be so loud and clear that I will not have to wonder whose voice it was or what He was saying. It is against the backdrop of silence that the chirping of even the smallest cricket seems to be amplified through a megaphone.


1 Kings 19:11-13
The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.