But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 2:20 This verse is underlined in a Bible I have that was my maternal grandmother’s. There is also a small slip of paper with just the chapter and verse listed on it. When I opened the Bible one recent evening , the first thing I saw was this scrap of paper. I had noticed it before, but this time I was led to turn to the book. When I did, I saw that she had underlined the verse. I pondered what about this verse struck her and prompted her to highlight it. There are more than thirty one thousand verses in the Bible. While this isn’t by a long stretch the only one she highlighted, it was obviously important to her.
I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend many hours visiting with her. In those times she would share much that was on her heart. She had a very straightforward faith and expressed her faith often through word and deed. She could also be very direct. On one occasion she even asked me when I was going to propose to the woman who would become my wife right in front of her. Quite embarrassing at the time, but that was her. She didn’t mince words. I don’t presume to know exactly what grandma felt about this verse, but perhaps it struck her as it does me, that there are times when it would be best if we kept silent instead of speaking up. We would then let God do the work that he set out to do without interference from us. When we are silent, that is when we truly listen and recognize the great works of our Heavenly Father. His ways are so far above our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9).
Instead of what would be our natural predisposition to magnify ourselves before the LORD, let us all hear what he has to say to us. It will be the sweetest sound we have ever heard. It will be him telling us of his profound love for us just as he told the prophet Jeremiah; “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love”. Truly the sacrifice of his son is the greatest love story ever heard! Praise God for his unspeakable mercies to us. Hans Lampinen
Submitted by Pastor Stan
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