The variety of swords at our disposal does not cease to amaze me. I think that it is easy to forget the power that our swords truly hold, but I am thankful for studies such as this that lay those swords out in front of us, resources that remind us that we have been blessed and chosen by God to carry these swords and to use them for His glory. The sword that is being discussed this week is one that has, at times, been difficult to wield; but at other times—with God on my side—it has been carried with ease. The sword of silence seems too heavy to bear when we have been “wearied by all the altercations” (pg. 183). All the altercations of life, of relationships, of responsibilities, and like David we may have felt the weight of wanting to be included. It feels unbearable when we feel like we have had enough and we feel the weight of the world on our shoulders.
When David felt like this, when he felt wearied, he reacted. He tossed aside his sword of silence and picked up a sword which he intended to use for harm.
“If you are not careful, listening to what other people say about you may cause you to forget who you actually are” (pg. 185). One thing that I have noticed is that this does not always apply to other people. There have been times when I have been my own distraction, where I have talked myself out of my sword of silence. Both those around us and our own inner thoughts can distract us enough to cause us to react. “The trick is choosing to allow those critiques to refine, not define, us.” (pg. 185)
There are some key takeaways for all of us here:
1. God alone establishes houses.
2. When we live under the directive of God’s Spirit, God protects us.
3. God knows how to settle matters with our enemies.
4. We should never use our position with God to protect ourselves.
5. We are not to take judgment or salvation matters into our hands; both of these matters belong to our God. (pg.186)
I have to remind myself often that the sword I am being instructed to pick up is my sword of silence. I am to step back in prayer and allow God to handle the situation; I’m supposed to bite my tongue.
Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, there are so many times when Your instruction is to pick up our sword of silence. Life (and the weight it places on us) can cause this sword to feel extremely heavy at times. Lord, I ask for strength for all of us when we are to carry this sword, when we are to silence our own thoughts and the words of those around us. Thank you for protecting us and for settling our matters for us, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, we pray, Amen.
About Tonya Ellison
Tonya, you highlighted some of the very points I saw in the chapter too! Your statement, “There have been many times when I have been my own distraction, where I have talked myself out of my sword of silence,” that’s me. I will know that I should keep my mouth shut but then I talk myself into saying something “because THEY need to hear it.” I want to be ‘refined’ into someone like David’s Abigail, “a courageous woman with the sword of wisdom by her side.”
Another take-away from this section for me was that Abigail “intentionally reminded David of who and Whose he was.” I put a note in the margin, “I can do this for my husband, Steve!” How simple but how important, but I have to be intentional to know when to use my sword of silence and when to use my sword of wisdom. (Not always easy.)
The Lord has shown me in the past that the Sword of silence and waiting on the Lord to settle matters makes life so much easier. True miracles occur when we wait on the Lord.
If I would have listened to my doctor concerning the boy who was stalking my daughter, my husband may have been put in jail by using a gun for our protection. The Lord was our protection even when this boy had a high powered BB gun pointed at my husband and daughter. Because we did not arm ourselves the Lord was our protector, miraculously the Lord gave my husband the ability to disarm this boy. My husband and I were able to continue ownership of our childcare facility. The Lord delivered us from our enemy and I praise him to this day!!!
Tony, you gave straight to the point about this chapter. Very good summarizing main sentences. Thank you.
Amen, Tonya! Another great job. I (at times) am my own worst enemy. I need to be more obedient in wielding the sword of silence. Being aware of the mental grumbling as well as the spoken word has been a growth spurt for me this past year!
thank you, tonya, for cautioning us of the danger of being weary and handling things on our own. we DO get wearied and, at times, restless in waiting. but our Father ALWAYS has a better—the best!—plan; we just need to heft that sword of silence and ‘be still and see the salvation of the Lord!’ love you, tonya! <3
In this chapter, I am reminded of is the many times I “preach” to my husband about reading his Bible, or praying together as a couple.
Are there times in your own life where you catch yourself telling your husband how his Christian walk should be, or look?
I have had to take these times to the Lord so many times, it’s not funny! I’ve learned to shut up and pray up! We want to see our husbands walk be as real, and evident, as we “think” it should be, so we try to “help” them by giving them “advice” about reading, studying, praying, building a relationship w/ Christ, taking the role as spiritual leader more seriously, and so on.
But, when reality sinks back in, we realize that their walk is really none of our business! Their walk is between them and God only! Their walk is something THEY need to work on, not us! It is not our job to mold their relationship with the Lord! It is God’s Job!!
We are to respect our husbands, submit to him, and pray for him. That is our ONLY job as his helpmeet when it comes to his relationship with Christ. We are to be the model through our actions, not our words! (1 Peter 3:1-2)
Yep, I’m with you, Christi. I find that I have to “bite my tongue” more with my husband than with anyone else, especially when I want to “help” him. :-} Thanks for the reminder of 1 Pet 3:1-2.
Waiting on the Lord to settle matters is a big one. I think that we (of course I’m speaking for myself) want things to be taken care of right away. We think that that situations require an action or that they require us to say what’s on our mind, when most of the time what we need to do is step back and let God settle those matters. This is a wonderful testimony, and like you said, true miracles occur when we wait on the Lord.