1. It heals –
The change of pace that Moses experienced as he transitioned from a fancy royal city life to that of a humble shepherd in the quietness of the wilderness must have been drastic. Away from the noise and the social protocols, Moses had plenty of time and the necessary silence to think and self-reflect.
It is possible that he, at some point or another questioned his life purpose.
Moses had received military training by Egypt’s finest. But now, all the things that he had learned, and all those years spent at the palace seemed to be of no good use. His people were still under the oppression of slavery back in Egypt. It is possible that he also wrestled with guilt.
However, in the solitude of the desert, surrounded by silence, was where Moses needed to be. Before accomplishing his mission, he needed to heal. Go through a spiritual detox if you may. Moses needed to heal form his mistakes and become free from the pagan influences that had -without him even realizing it- corrupted his spirit and tainted his soul.
During this time, Moses received Divine inspiration to write the Pentateuch, so it’s not like God was in complete silence. God’s appointed mission for Moses, however, seemed to be “on hold”. But it wasn’t. He was, without knowing it, getting ready to face God in a burning bush. That preparation time for him took forty years.
The period of silence that precedes a calling is as important as the calling itself, because it enables you to discern things that you would otherwise miss altogether. That is why in order to recognize God’s voice, we sometimes need to experience His silence first.
2. It prepares–
If there is one thing that the silence of God can accomplish in your life is help you develop patience and perseverance. Spending the “best years of his life” locked in a prison, wrongly accused of a crime he didn’t commit must have not been exactly easy for Joseph. In this position, he could have easily felt forsaken by God.
God communicated with Joseph for the sake of others. Nevertheless, regarding his own situation, there seemed to be no answer.
Without realizing it, however, Joseph was undergoing an intense training in administration. Living an experience that was equipping him with the necessary skills and strength of character that he would one day need in order to become Egypt’s second in command.
Are you currently experiencing a period of silence? Work diligently on everything that comes your way, keep an open eye for the needs of others, and brace yourself for the next big thing.
3. It strengthens –
Have you ever wondered why God spends the first 37 chapters of the book of Job in silence? Because I have. Here we have this man who leads a righteous life, who is greatly favored by God, and who seems to have it all.
Then, out of nowhere tragedy strikes. No warnings. No explanation. And God spends the first 37 chapters in silence. During this time, Job becomes closely acquainted with the process of grieving, is exposed to different points of view about God, and experiences an existential crisis. All the while God is “in silence”.
By the end of the book of Job, after God’s intervention, we see a very humble Job who is in awe of God’s infinite wisdom. He admits to not “really knowing God before” and now understanding Him on a more profound level. Job’s relationship with God was a great one, indeed; but it could be even better, deeper, and stronger and God knew it.
Even though we know the background story that preceded his trials, it is not recorded in the Bible that Job ever got an explanation for the situation he went through.
There will be seasons in life when everything seems to crumble down at once. And it is okay to grieve, it’s okay to search for answers, it’s natural to want to know what to do next. But we won’t always find those answers we’re looking for; sometimes we’ll be met with silence. And that is okay too. Because sometimes, the task is to sit on the floor with God; naked, raw, vulnerable, in silence. Because there is a level of intimacy that can develop this way, that can hardly be developed any other.
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. “
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