When Silence Speaks
The Bridge of the Cross: Day 1 of 5
“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10 NIV
One of my most memorable services in the Episcopal Church occurred when I attended a Good Friday service alone in my late twenties. The church was dark, cold, and quiet. The silence swept across the tile floor and settled over the pews. There was no casual conversation or joyful music to distract us from the importance of that day. We were there to remember the cross.
Good Friday invites us into a kind of silence that can feel uncomfortable. We are accustomed to filling quiet spaces with conversation, music, television, scrolling, or worry. Silence leaves us alone with our thoughts, and sometimes we are afraid of what we might hear there.
But silence can also make room for God.
Sitting alone in that church, I became more aware of my surroundings and the heaviness of what Jesus endured. The stillness allowed me to listen in a way I had not listened before.
Then I heard footsteps.
Parishioners were carrying a heavy wooden cross down the nave toward the altar. Every footstep echoed through the church. The cross dragged against the floor, interrupting the silence with a sound I would never forget.
God does not always speak through a clear voice or an immediate answer. Recently, for me, it was a simple word, "Bridge". Sometimes He reaches us through a verse, a memory, an image, or even the sound of a wooden cross moving through a silent church.
We must become still enough to notice. Silence is not always evidence that God is absent. Sometimes it is the sacred space in which He prepares our hearts to hear Him.
Questions to Ponder
When was the last time you sat quietly with God?
What distractions make it difficult for you to hear Him?
What might God be revealing within the silence of your current season?
Prayer for Today
Heavenly Father, teach me to become still in Your presence. Quiet the distractions around me and the anxious thoughts within me. Help me recognize that silence does not mean You are absent. Open my heart so I can hear what You want to show me today. Amen.
Share Your Joy Today.
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