“Yes, I know; keep silent!” These were the words Elisha responded with when he was asked the question if he knew that would be the day that his mentor, Elijah, would be taken up to heaven. In 2 Kings 2: 3 we read, “Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, & said to him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?’ And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.” A few minutes later, the sons of the prophets at Jericho came, asking the same question, & once again, Elisha responded, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”
Job in chapter 16 writes of his unkind friends accused Job of sinning against God for reason of all the troubles that had come upon him. In verse 6 Job says, “Though I speak, my grief is not relieved; & if I remain silent, how am I eased?” There are two proverbs I personally like & try to follow. “Silence speaks when words can’t! And “Sometimes silence is a really good answer.”
Nowhere in the Bible are we promised that we will understand everything that is allowed to come upon us, nor are we promised we will not face days of suffering, we are however, promised that God will be with us in the pain we are going through. Which then brings up the question of should we ask why we are facing every condition we are? Perhaps as you read this CRA Moment you are facing a desk-top full of bills, with not enough money to cover all of them. Or your situation may be that you are facing health issues where doctors have given a prognosis that is negative. You possibly may be a husband or wife whose spouse has given an ultimatum that ended with the words, “I’m leaving! You do what you need to do!” Also possibly for some, your children, not just those under age and living at home, but grown children, are so far away from the Lord that your heart not only aches but feels as though it’s about to fall out of your chest.
When tragedy strikes, it’s quite common for people to have crisis of faith. We have questions! Often we also have no answers! We look to God and wonder why? We can testify to that, for it was a day like this for our family when we received word in September of ‘21 that Jeannie’s only brother had passed away. It was not just the news of Steve’s passing that was so difficult, rather, the fact it was so unnecessary! While in the hospital for a minor issue, “complications” arose, and while those “complications” could have been thwarted as well as treated with proper medicines which we had in our own possession that had been a proven help to others. The results came rather swift…within a few days Steve went to be with Jesus whom he had lived the days of his life to honor and obey. What was our response? We remained silent!
Did we have questions? Of course! We looked to God and wondered why? Why now? Why this way? Why at an age when there could be many years ahead? While there was great error for those who attended to him, we also realize we don’t know what God knows. We know God could have raised Steve up from that hospital bed…yet He didn’t! Why?
In the Bible in Leviticus 10:1-2, Aaron the High Priest’s life is struck by tragedy when his two sons tragically died, and what was his response? Verse 3 tells us, “So Aaron held his peace.” Did you catch that! He didn’t cry out against God, and he didn’t demand and answer from Him, nor did he offer his opinion of what had taken place. He remained silent! The NKJV reads, that Aaron “held his peace.”
Blessings, Psalm 20:7 Dale & Jeannie