Today’s reflection is from Arthur O. Roberts based on the reading from Zechariah 2:1-5, 10-13

Verse 13 of the Bible reading is the crux of our text. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.

A lamentable aspect of our materialistic culture is a diminishment of awe before the Lord. Sometimes it takes a nearby tragedy or storm to make us stand, hand over mouth, awe-stricken before the Lord God Almighty.

The biblical word about silence before the Lord draws upon the third of Zechariah’s eight visions of hope for Judah during its captivity. This vision pictures a people peacefully settled in the “holy land” (the only place in the Bible that term appears). The Zionism depicted here is inclusive, not exclusive. Jews are to be what Abraham envisioned, a people whose faith enables others to find God’s blessing for themselves. The vision portrays God’s presence in the midst of Jerusalem, with all nations reconciled and at peace. No need to survey Jerusalem’s boundaries, the young man in Zechariah’s vision is told, for the Lord will be the wall of fire around it [and] its glory within.

Here is something to shout about … certainly — security plus joyous splendor. When the Holy One appears on the stage of the heart, just as when He entered history at Bethlehem, silence is an appropriate human response.

Picture curtains being pulled just before a major drama or symphony begins. How expectantly the audience waits! This is how silence should be: a holy hush as the King of glory strides on stage. In the words of the text: Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.

Prayer: Let a quiet hush precede your praise to the Almighty.

Roberts is a prolific Quaker writer who spent many years on the faculty of George Fox College (now George Fox University) after receiving his doctorate from Boston University in 1953. While at the college he was instrumental in researching Quaker historical themes and developing the George Fox College Peace Center. This reflection was part of a devotional series on the theme is silence in The Fruit of the Vine. It is copyrighted by Barclay Press.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up. — Vince Lombardi