In The Stillness Of The Midnight...

In The Stillness...

There's a song that The Chapelaires, a choir at my home church in Ft Wayne, IN used to sing called Precious Memories. It has been, and continues to be, one of my favorites. The second verse has always been very powerful to me. It says, "...In The Stillness Of The Midnight, Sacred Secrets He'll Unfold..."

The older I get, the more that verse continues to resonate with me. As a young adult, in my late 20's and early 30's, I thought that I needed to sit outside at night, when there was no traffic, no distractions, no tv, cell phone, or email, the kids had been put to bed, and my wife was asleep. I would sit outside of our parsonage in Marion, IN and listen...waiting for God to speak to me...waiting for those "sacred secrets". He would always show up, and those moments became good times of quiet fellowship with Him.

Now, as I approach my 60's, I have a different understanding. There are times when we feel that we have been faithful and diligent...doing our best to do what God wants us to do. Yet and still, it seems as if we're in some sort of holding pattern. We're patiently waiting for our deliverance, our breakthrough, and it doesn't look like it's coming...and to make matters worse, when we pray, it seems as if the Heavens are silent. It's in those moments...those "moments of midnight"...that God still speaks to us in a still small voice, if we're actively listening. If you're like me, there have been times in my life that I've been so busy complaining to God that I don't hear Him speaking to me.

Consider this: During the New Testament Era, Rome had a law which stated that when compelled by a Roman Soldier, a citizen had to carry the luggage or "burden" of a king or dignitary for one mile. The Roman roads were well marked, so well in fact, that our current Interstate System uses the same mile marking system today. Citizens who had had their schedule interrupted by this rule, would carry their compelled burden for a mile and drop it promptly (and defiantly) at the next marker. Jesus even mentions this law in His sermon on the mount: "If a man compels you to go a mile, go with him twain (or two)..."

When Jesus is carrying his cross to Calvary, he stumbles, and a Roman soldier taps a citizen on the shoulder with sword (or compels) a citizen of the Roman Province of Cyrene, by the name of Simon, to pick up Jesus' Cross and carry it. At that moment, while He is on his way to be crucified and die for our sins, in the midst of all of that pain, agony and suffering, Heaven proclaims to world that this tattered, bruised, suffering man is a Dignitary...or better yet...a King. Let that sink in... How many times have we been dealing with less, and complained more? If you're like me, I always end up apologizing to The Father and asking for forgiveness, which He gives me. Let's agree that the next time that we're "going through" (my grandmother's description of a trial or tribulation), we will complain less, and in the stillness of our midnight, listen for God to reveal His "sacred secrets" to us. Be Blessed My Bother! Be Blessed My Sister! Have A Great Week!