When Silence is not Silent

   I woke up this morning with no real agenda in my mind. I felt like I would just do a little bit of Bible Study, and a little bit of writing to begin my day.

   Then came a phone call, someone checking my morning schedule to see if I would be available for a meeting in about 45 minutes. So I ate a quick breakfast and then proceeded to leave. After an hour or so, I came home, ready to take up where I left off and do my quiet time. Then Mayre tells me that the church had called and had some checks that needed to be signed, so off I went again, signed, and returned home once again.

   I knew I still had the time to have a quality study, prayer and meditation period before lunch, so I sat down and read the Scriptures for today. And what happened? Nothing! My mind was still turning from the meeting and the conversations at church, and, even as I read, I could sense that all I was doing was just that, reading. Nothing jumped out at me from the pages of the readings, nothing that I could put my hands on and say that God was trying to show me this or that out of what I read.

   I was almost as if He was saying, "I have given you many things over the past days and weeks, are you living a changed life because of that, or have those things just been written down and forgotten?" "Were they only for you to have something to blog about, or were they to be lived?"

   So I began to look back at some previous posts, ones where I felt He had spoken to me about some issues in my life. Have I continued on a path that He has pointed out to me, or just written those thought down and gone my merry way?

   Let's see:

   I wrote about the turmoil in Israel and the Middle East. Have I spent any time in prayer for all of that?

   I wrote about my treatment of other people and my attitude in dealing with strangers, as well as people that I knew. How about that?

   I wrote about my responsibility because of the way God has blessed me? Am I still just accepting His blessings and going on my way?

   I wrote about a special day. Have I consciously made an effort to make a day, any day, even this day, special to someone?

   I wrote about a Thanksgiving filled with hospitality for others. Have I even thought about it since that day?

   I wrote about pride and how it relates to concern for others less fortunate than I. How have I lived that out?

   Good Grief, Charlie Brown, I can see why God might choose to be silent on this morning. Could it be that He is saying "Look at all you have been prompted to think about and write down. Take note of the things I have put into your mind. What have you done with all these insights into your own life?"

   And the list above only came from the past few posts.

   Could it be that His silence was not that after all?