The Silent Exclamation
We learn what punctuation marks stand for in elementary school. So how is it possible, that as an adult, you learn that the mark that “makes the loudest sound” can actually be silent? How can the mark that is so expressive be the most unanimated??
In life, there are times that we have to make a stand and express our love for Christ, our life, and our family. We have to show everything that we are in such a way, that we drown out the things around us. Then there are times that we must be still. There are times that we must be silent. We have to be able to recognize the times that we hear God and know to be quiet. On the other hand, there are times that we have to let our lives and our faith we have scream louder than any word or gesture to who we say we are. All the world is so loud and all those around us have spoken before they have acted, sometimes we doubt the standard. We doubt that we have a place or community of believers that are doers, not just hearers of the word. At every turn, we notice there are fewer people who will stand by the word without compromising. Knowing that, we are naturally inclined to be louder, be stronger, push harder….not so.
Our faith is not predicated on the premise that we have to scream louder, press our beliefs or the promises of God on anyone to entice them to believe or to follow Him. Our faith is also not activated based on what people say or do. All we have to do is believe, trust in His word and know that the promises that He made to us will be fulfilled. When the world is going left and you know the path is right, you have to stand strong and remember, believe there is good while being the good in the world. Your testimony may help someone else. Trust the process and know that God isn’t finished.
In the word we are constantly reminded of how our belief is what gets us through the weight of the world. John 5:5 says, ‘Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God.’ We are destined to overcome the world. Our belief and knowledge that Jesus Christ is our redeemer, the Son of the Most High God, enables us to overcome. In Revelation 12:11, John tells us, ‘And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death.’
We are not to love our lives, the things of the world, and be so caught up trying to relate to others and be part of the crowd that we allow our testimony to be silenced. Our testimony, our lives, the very thing that has created and shaped our life, should not be muffled. Even when you can’t say a word, you have to be able to let your testimony scream loudly!
Your belief can be the silent exclamation that says, no matter what may come my way, I have a Savior who has promised me to prosper. I am a living testimony of the faithfulness of God. As believers, worshippers, wives, mothers, husbands, fathers, daughters, sisters, sons and brothers…we must know. We must keep and hide His word in our hearts.
But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. - Galatians 3:22 (NIV) As a daughter of the King, I try to keep Luke 1:45 in my mind at all times: Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises.
God is so good, and He is faithful. I choose to make a silent exclamation with my life to show that not only do my words speak of His goodness, but my life and my testimony will be the silent exclamation until the final period of my story has been placed. And after the language arts test of life is over, it can be said, that despite the body of text for my life, I was able to make a grammatical contradiction by proving... there can be a silent exclamation. Just remember, #Hesnotfinished.