SCRIPTURE: Therefore, he who is prudent and has insight will keep silent at such a [corrupt and evil] time, for it is an evil time [when people will not listen to truth and will disregard those of good character]. Amos 5:13 AMP
THOUGHT: Recently, I came across this verse in Amos and it has been rolling around in my head since.
Amos, just a common shepherd when God begins giving him prophetic messages, is talking about great evil around him and the judgement of God coming against it. He says there is a time for not talking anymore because people are no longer listening to truth, and not even your good character (no words at all) means anything. That is a shallow culture, isn’t it? One that looks no deeper than appearances, and thinks no further than the moment. I am haunted by a scene from The Hunger Games, where the partying crowds gather for the opening ceremony, hungry for the spectacle of death, covered in lust and greed and gaudiness.
Solomon the Wise says there’s a time for everything under the sun, a time to be silent among them (Ecc. 3:7). The same writer says, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few (Ecc. 5:2).”
Speaking of not uttering a thing, John, disciple of Jesus and writer of Revelation, records the following: “When He (the Lamb) broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour [in awe of God’s impending judgment] (Rev. 8:1 AMP).” And Zephaniah, that prophet who famously speaks of God singing over us with great joy and quieting us with his love (Zeph. 3:17), also offers this: “[Hush!] Be silent before the Lord God [there is no acceptable excuse to offer]! For the day [of the vengeance] of the Lord is near (Zeph. 1:7 AMP).”
I’m not sure we are at the time for silence yet, but I do feel it coming. Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work (John 9:4 NIV).”
Keep working. Keep sharing. Keep hoping. Keep praying. The time for silence is coming.
PRAYER: Oh God, help me not be silent while it is still day. Give me work to do – not just any work, your work.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
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