Revelation 8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
“Wait until we get home,” my mother would say when I misbehaved in public. Once we arrived at the house, a prolonged silence often preceded punishment. The tension of those silences was worse than the actual punishments.
God is always trying to get our attention and waits while we misbehave until we are prepared to receive judgment. However long God maintains this silence and seeming delay, we also must wait.
Why is there silence in heaven when the Lamb opens the seal? This extended silence intensifies the power and awe of the judgment to which God subjects the earth. Silence, even of short duration, can make us uncomfortable. The lack of input forces us to pay attention. God often expresses power through silence and delay in order to gain our complete attention before unleashing awesome actions of incomparable justice and mercy.
MOVING FORWARD: How can you incorporate the idea of holy silence into your daily life, outside of your devotional time?
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