Soul Scientist

This post is an excerpt from “Nevertheless: Finding Hope in Suffering” book to be released in 2024 by Northeastern Baptist Press as part of “The Nevertheless Project”. I hope that you might see a glimpse of Jesus here and thus, be encouraged in the soil of your soul with the following words…

Psalm 62:2

CEB Only God is my rock and my salvation – my stronghold! – I won’t be shaken anymore.

CEV God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe and the fortress where I am secure.

It wasn’t in a display of might or majesty when Elijah heard the voice of God in 1 Kings 19, it was in a low whisper (or a still small voice as some other versions call it). That still small voice was when God came the nearest (1 Kings 19:13 KJV). If Elijah had not been silent, would he have heard that voice? Could his shouts or songs have drowned out that voice? Could his supplications or sacrifices have overshadowed that voice? Isaiah tells me what God really wants from me is a broken and contrite heart which I think is a heart that’s listening, learning, longing, and loving instead of leading (see Isaiah 1:11 and Psalm 51:17 ESV). Scripture also tells me that God dwells with those who have those kind of hearts (see Isaiah 57:15).

And that truth gives me strength!

The strength to stand up in another day to (try and) face it with hope and the honesty that my body is declining despite the best treatments but that my God has a plan and purpose for good in all of this (see Romans 8:28). And that still small voice of the Holy Spirit reminds me that God will always be my Rock and my Redeemer. He is faithful to remind, like He did with Job sitting in dust and ashes, when I am careful to be silent and listen (see Job 19:25).

With hard life circumstances involving pain, grief, and loss, silence is often a hard choice. Doesn’t it seem easier to use whatever means available to satisfy the sorrow or erase the empty with something to deny or distract from the hard? Yet it’s in the silence and the solitude when I can hear that still small voice. Hearing that voice tells me I am supported and strengthened by my Rock God. He doesn’t always scoop out a literal cleft, cave, or cove where I can find solace. But He is always with me, no matter how devastating the storm. He isn’t just the quiet in the eye of the storm. He is the One Who tells the storm to quiet, be still (see Mark 4:39). He is the One Whose eyes roam the earth to strengthen those who look to Him (see 2 Chronicles 16:9). He is the One Who calls me to Him for rest, righteousness, and restoration (see Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and 1 John 1:9). And He is the One Who tells me to be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10 ESV).

That still small voice is usually where I find direction and details for the next step forward in the grief, pain, and loss. Especially when the next step isn’t forward but to stay. The step of staying is waiting and watching and listening, learning, and being loved. And when He says stay, He scoops out the time and strength for me to choose to do that. And that scooping-out of time in the holding back by God and with God and for God in this moment is always be enough for whatever is coming after.

Are you in a staying place right now? If so, are you making time for silence to let your soul hear from God?

written by and copyrighted to Beth Madison, Ph.D., 2023.