A Silent Evening

"Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside." Luke 1:8-9

Last night, I was given a most precious gift from my loving and thoughtful husband: a whole evening alone...in the house...surrounded with nothing but silence. This luxury of a quiet house is rare for a mother. What would I do with all this time? Would I fill the silence with my favorite and soothing music or soak in the stillness knowing it might be a while before the house is this silent again!

The first order of business was dinner. Trying something new was on the menu. Stuffed red peppers: rice, ground chicken, onion, garlic, squash, black beans, corn and tomatoes. What a lovely start to the evening!

Next on the schedule, filling the rest of the evening, was in-depth Bible study. This was my time to prepare for a life changing evening providing a plethora of ideas to fill my blog. Anticipation filled my heart with excitement as I was ready to hear God's voice. Looking back on my life, this evening would be a pivotal point, changing me in a huge way!

Gathering all my materials...Bible, notebooks, pens, journal, Bible study resources...I was completely prepared. And the best part of the whole event was spreading out all the materials right next to the warm and cozy fire!

With everything in place and my heart ready, the evening began! I began with prayer and proceeded to read and re-read, jot down notes, look up definitions and commentary notes! Speak, Lord! Speak!

At the end of a long and focused evening, I felt....nothing. What?! No ideas? No life-changing message? No word that moves me to tears? That's it? Surely there's something to give me warm and fuzzy feelings! Nothing.

I headed to bed feeling a bit slighted. As I wondered what the purpose of my whole evening was, I realized I had two choice. I could listen to the lies of Satan and believe it was all worthless or I could trust God to reveal in His time what He intended to teach me.

This morning, God reminded me of Zachariah. He had one time in his entire life to go inside the temple and burn incense to God. You and I, on the other hand, have the honor and humble privilege to go to God at any moment, any hour, any day we choose. And to be honest, not every encounter is going to bring tears to our eyes or make us want to dance. We might spend time in His Word and hear nothing but silence. But that's OK. We have a choice: are we going to continue to praise Him and meditate on Him? Or will we throw up our arms in defeat and give up? Whatever you decide, remember that keeping our focus on Him, through thick and thin, pleases Him. And there is nothing more joyful than pleasing God!

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14