In the Silence
John 1:1-18
"To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit."
(Psalm 28:1)
In 1964 Simon and Garfunkel recorded their blockbuster hit, "The Sound of Silence", catapulting their career into music history. Pure silence actually is deafening. It feels thick, heavy, even disturbing. Imagine no humming refrigerator, no crickets, no traffic - just deep, penetrating silence. Many of us are so numb to the constant noise around us that we feel uncomfortable with silence.
Has it ever seemed to you as if God is silent? We're desperate for direction, or encouragement or just a sense that He is there. We long to hear from Him, but no sound makes its way to us. The Psalmist, David, cried to God to not be silent when all around him was in turmoil. He well knew how intimacy with God could steady his soul, so when his enemies pursued him, he longed to hear from the Almighty.
In John 1 we read, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." When Jesus came to earth, God's spoken word became His Living Word. Never again would there be silence, for His Word was and is with us.
INSIGHT
Even when our spirits sense a deafening silence from God, we must not stop listening. It's His nature to communicate His love to us.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Numbers 27-28
Psalm 75
John 17
John 1
Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.[b]
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,[c] 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14 So the Word became human[d] and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.[e] And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, "This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’"
16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.[f] 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God,[g] is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
Footnotes:
a. John 1:4 Or and nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything.
b. John 1:5 Or and the darkness has not understood it.
c. John 1:6 Greek a man named John.
d. John 1:14 Greek became flesh.
e. John 1:14 Or grace and truth; also in 1:17.
f. John 1:16 Or received the grace of Christ rather than the grace of the law; Greek reads received grace upon grace.
g. John 1:18 Some manuscripts read But the one and only Son.
New Living Translation (NLT)
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