"And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."
Revelation 8:1
This is an interesting verse. It is in the middle of several chapters talking about things that precede the Second Coming. The opening of the Seventh Seal is a momentous event, but immediately following its opening, there is just silence. It seems to be similar to 3 Nephi 10:1, before Christ visited that people: "after these sayings there was silence in the land for the space of many hours."
I was thinking about the silence, and I think maybe we have similar silences in our lives. We sometimes interpret silence as abandonment or disinterest, when in a lot of cases I think that God is actually giving us time to rest, recover, comprehend, and regroup... especially when momentous things are happening. He breaks up the bad times, gives us time to deal with our emotions and our anxiety, and prepares us for what comes next.
Today, when we feel overwhelmed with the momentous, let's be aware of the small silences, and instead of using them to increase our worry and stress about what comes next, let's thank God for the time to sit down and breathe. Let's work with God and with his help recover some health and sanity before we return to whatever struggle we are engaged in.
As with the people in 3rd Nephi, even through the toughest times, we can have hope in God, and that his goodness will outweigh any suffering. Eventually, with his help, we will progress to a much more permanent peace.
Revelation 8:1
This is an interesting verse. It is in the middle of several chapters talking about things that precede the Second Coming. The opening of the Seventh Seal is a momentous event, but immediately following its opening, there is just silence. It seems to be similar to 3 Nephi 10:1, before Christ visited that people: "after these sayings there was silence in the land for the space of many hours."
I was thinking about the silence, and I think maybe we have similar silences in our lives. We sometimes interpret silence as abandonment or disinterest, when in a lot of cases I think that God is actually giving us time to rest, recover, comprehend, and regroup... especially when momentous things are happening. He breaks up the bad times, gives us time to deal with our emotions and our anxiety, and prepares us for what comes next.
Today, when we feel overwhelmed with the momentous, let's be aware of the small silences, and instead of using them to increase our worry and stress about what comes next, let's thank God for the time to sit down and breathe. Let's work with God and with his help recover some health and sanity before we return to whatever struggle we are engaged in.
As with the people in 3rd Nephi, even through the toughest times, we can have hope in God, and that his goodness will outweigh any suffering. Eventually, with his help, we will progress to a much more permanent peace.
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