Silence is not new to me. I am very comfortable in silence. However, I have discovered that many other people are not – many people need noise to feel at peace, but it is not so with me.
However, lately, I've noticed the silence is much greater and deeper. I have come to believe it is a spiritual thing.
After completing a time of fasting, I'm finding I have much less to say. When I speak, it is the Word of God or something that agrees with it. Otherwise I am silent. People have even begun to ask me why I am not responding to their conversations. I thought this was just something God was working in me...that is until I spoke with a couple friends in the faith. Each one was going through a very critical situation. Each one made the same comment. They said, "God is telling me to keep my mouth shut." Ahhh...
After the Silence Comes the Shout
Recently in my quiet time with God, I was thinking about this. As I did, I heard a statement from the Lord. He gently spoke to my spirit and said, "Silence in the Kingdom."
For another hour or so I continued to think about this silence and what it could mean. I stood up to walk into my kitchen when the Lord again spoke to me. This time it was much louder and quite firm. He said, "There's a shout coming!" He went on to say, "After the silence comes the shout."
Joshua 6 tells us the story of the walls of Jericho. God revealed His plan of victory to Joshua. The plan was for the children of Israel to walk around the walls seven days in a row. They were to keep silent as they marched. For six days they marched around that wall in silence. On the seventh day, they again marched around that wall. This day was to be different. This day the walls would come down. When the trumpets blew, Joshua told the people to shout. And shout they did! As they shouted the walls came down.
It's a wonderful story of the victory of God for His people. They obeyed the word of God, keeping silent as long as they were commanded to, then shouting when they were commanded to shout. The Bible says that their enemy was "utterly destroyed." They even took all the spoils of their enemy.
God Is Giving You the City
But that's not my favorite part. After the battle was won, Joshua went on to say, "Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city...." (Joshua 6:26). God had given His people the city. The enemy was destroyed, once and for all. They would not rise again. The enemy that stood in their way would never come against them again.
I am reminded of another time in Scripture when the enemy was seen no more. It is found in Exodus 14:13-14: "But Moses told the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD's salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.'"
We see God utterly destroying another enemy once and for all, never to come against His people again. They only had to refuse fear and be still. They only had to trust God in the silence. This is not unusual to God. Jesus Himself, said, "...I do nothing on My own but say only what the Father taught Me" (John 8:28). If God wasn't speaking, Jesus didn't speak.
If God is not speaking, we often need to remain silent; to be still until God says, "Move," to walk in silence until God says, "Shout."
Get Ready for the Shout!
With all that being said, I feel God is saying this to His people today:
We are now, in this time, walking around every wall that has been standing before us. We are being silent, waiting for God to give us the words to say, waiting for God to speak through us, being still and waiting on the Lord. BUT...there is a shout coming! That shout is going to cause every wall standing before us to crumble. The wall WILL crumble and we will take the spoils of the enemy. Not only that, but this affliction, this enemy – whatever it is – will NOT ARISE AGAIN. It will be utterly destroyed by the shout.
God has given you the land. It is yours! Keep walking. Stay tuned into His voice. Wait until He says, "Speak," and until then, let there be silence in the Kingdom. Trust Him in the silence, AND...get ready for the shout! When God says, "Shout!" then SHOUT!
When you shout, those walls will come down, and that enemy you now see you will see no more. God did it for Joshua. He did it for Moses and the children of Israel. He will do it for you.
I want to share one more Scripture with you, it is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. It says, "For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout..." Trust Him in the silence, and in the shout. For after the silence comes the shout. We have His word on it.
Kim Potter
A New Thing Ministries
Email: kim@anewthingministries.com
Website: www.anewthingministries.com
Kim Potter is the founder of A New Thing Ministries, which sends a daily teaching to over 10,000 people all around the world. Her articles have appeared on The Elijah List, Charisma, Spirit Fuel and iBelieve.com. Kim's message is one of hope. She speaks to the heart of those who have grown discouraged and disappointed by the circumstances of life and imparts the desire and ability to stand against all odds; to stand for victory. She encourages people to press into God and discover that He is who He says He is.
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