Back to Bulletins List

Bulletin 95 Date : 30th Apr 2007
Silence in Heaven

Revelation 8:1 has always intrigued me. When the seventh seal was opened there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Firstly, I thought heaven – being in the realm of eternity - would have no concept of time. Secondly, who was timing the silence? And thirdly, what about all of those compulsive chatterers who can’t keep silent for more than five minutes? It must have been hell for them!

But, have we lost the art of silence in today’s high-pressured life-style? Noise is everywhere – shopping centres, buses and trains (those pesky mobile phones) and even in our church services. Can you imagine the reaction if I said to the congregation, “we are going to spend the next half hour in silence”? We have become oblivious to noise pollution.

I was surprised to read Steve Chalke’s article in the May edition of Christianity magazine. I always admire Steve for his frank and honest approach but this time he seems to have revealed to the world that he is on the verge of a breakdown through rushing around like a mad thing. As I talk to friends and colleagues I find the subject of stress is never far away.

One thing I notice about Jesus is that, although He achieved an enormous amount in His ministry (John 20:30) – He never rushed. He would deliberately withdraw to the hills on some occasions to pray (Luke 6:12). He also had a clear sense of timing (John 2:4) and would not be coerced into action by anyone. He even stayed away from Bethany when His friend Lazarus was dying (John 11:6), much to the annoyance of Martha (John 11:21) and Mary (John 11:32). Have we learnt when to say “no” or do we rush around chasing impossible deadlines simply to look good or appear busy when a more relaxed approach to life would help us to achieve far more? After all, self control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23) and Paul tells us there’s no law against it.

The Psalms teach us a great deal about silence and stillness. Psalm 62:1 & 5 urges us to wait in silence for the Lord. Psalm 37:7 urges us to be still and wait patiently for the Lord. And, perhaps the most famous of all is Psalm 46:10 which urges us to “be still and know that I am God”.

It’s time to make silence our friend and companion on the way.