View Site Map

The Sound of Silence from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

It's great when we are on top of the mountain with the Lord, like Moses getting fresh direction, but it gets lonely down in the valley where they worship that golden calf. We are excited when we get a fresh vision from the Lord, a new direction. "Oh, now we know what to do!" But there is often a span of time between the revelation and the fulfillment where confusion can set in. We can begin to lose focus and question, "What should I do now?" while the Lord is silent. What do you do then?

There are a few examples from the Bible we can learn from. Noah is a good one:

(Genesis 6:12–14 NKJV)  So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

God gave Noah instructions on building an ark, and then the Scriptures were silent for 70 to 120 years while the work was being done. What did Noah do? He continued with the last word given until he was given new instructions. He had a "great work" to do, and he concentrated on accomplishing that. 

(Genesis 6:22–7:1 NKJV)  Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did. Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.

When Noah reached the next milestone in his journey, new instructions came: "Come into the ark..." Abram is another good example:

(Genesis 12:1 NKJV)  Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.

Then there was silence until Abram did what God had instructed. 

(Genesis 12:4 NKJV)  So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

When Abram reached his destination, new instructions came to him, a fresh word from the Lord. 

(Genesis 12:7 NKJV)  Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

You don't get to see step two until you have completed step one. If the Lord has told you to do something, don't expect to hear much else until you have completed it. There are exceptions to this I will cover later in the message. 

Scripture also provides some bad examples. Consider Moses on the mountaintop getting new instructions from the Lord and his brother Aaron down in the valley. 

(Exodus 24:12–15 NKJV)  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them." So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them." Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.

Moses met with God on Mount Sinai for forty days and nights while receiving instructions about the ten commandments, the Sabbath day, designs for the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, and its furnishings. Moses left his brother Aaron in charge while he was away, but instead of sticking with the last word given, Aaron decided to try something new. 

(Exodus 32:1 NKJV)  Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

Aaron collected gold from the people and made it into a golden calf like one of the gods of Egypt. They built an altar to it and said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" As if a hunk of metal had delivered them... King Jeroboam did the same thing in (1 Kings 12:28). This behavior greatly incensed the Lord, who was busy talking with Moses about His plans for Israel.

(Exodus 32:7–8 NKJV)  And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!' "

They quickly turned aside from the way He had commanded them. They ignored, "Wait here for us until we come back to you," and brought horrible difficulty to themselves by doing a 180 during a time of silence and trying something else. Stick with the last word given until new instructions come. 

Another bad example from Scripture is King Saul. A huge Philistine army was gathering together to fight Israel, and Saul watched nervously as his troops snuck away and hid in caves. The prophet Samuel told Saul to wait for him at Gilgal for seven days, and he would come and offer a sacrifice before the battle (1 Samuel 10:8). 

King Saul watched the Philistine army grow larger and more organized while his army was shrinking. He probably felt that time was his enemy and that they needed to attack now. Saul was compelled by his "feelings" and believed the sacrifice needed to be offered today, it couldn't wait any longer, so he did it himself. 

Only priests were permitted to offer sacrifices, so this was a grievous sin. King Uzziah once offered incense to the Lord and was stuck with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16). Two sons of Aaron, the high priest, were consumed by fire for an "unauthorized" offering (Leviticus 10:1). 

(1 Samuel 13:8–10 NKJV)  Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering. Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

Wouldn't you know it...an hour after Saul offered the sacrifice, the Prophet Samuel showed up. If Saul had trusted God for one more hour, his life could have ended differently. The last moments of waiting are usually the most intense, and we are tempted to take matters into our own hands. The pressure squeezes things like fear and doubt to the surface, and they will take over if you let them.  

(1 Samuel 13:11–12 NKJV)  And Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering."

(1 Samuel 13:13–14 NKJV)  And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."

Stay with the last word given until you are given new instructions. Think like a soldier. Follow orders. Don't panic. Stand your ground. Don't come up with your own plan. We cannot see the big picture as the Lord can.

Now for exceptions. When I was young in the Lord, and I did not know whether it was Him speaking, He gave me abundant grace and confirmations. It was wonderful. It was like this with Gideon, who asked the Lord for multiple signs, and He provided them (Judges 6:39). Gideon honestly didn't know if it was the Lord speaking or his imagination. The Lord understands that situation. 

As I matured a bit, the Lord began to "wean" me off the bottle of nine confirmations. There was a transition period, and He still confirms our major decisions. But He will not allow us to use "I'm waiting on another confirmation" as an excuse for not doing what He told us. When I get too "needy," I will get silence, Him laughing at me, and basically: "You know what I told you. Do it." 

Stay the course. Hold the line. Finish the work. Stay with the last word given until you are given new instructions. You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I love You and thank You today. Please speak to me clearly and give me the grace to accomplish my work. Help me learn to trust You and give me the strength to hold the line. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!