When the words don't come

I don't have many words to type today. I've been trying to write a post all afternoon, but the words won't come.

What can I learn from simply being in the stillness?

If I allow myself be quiet, I make space for His words to linger. It's a kind lesson to stop, let Him do His work, and listen as I press into that silence. Countless times, I've prayed Lord, please be obvious, because I don't always notice subtlety. As an example of answered prayers, I frequently lose my (physical) voice whenever I have a bad cold, and I've noticed a pattern. The times I lost my voice coincided perfectly with the times I needed to listen wholeheartedly to something other than my own voice. While I don't have a cold or hoarse voice, I think the lesson applies here. I read this in the Psalms today:

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation [...] For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. Psalm 62: 1, 5

And a friend sent me this as encouragement:

O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you [...] But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. Psalm 38: 9, 15

Silence does not always equate melancholy. I can safely and assuredly wait in silence, until there are words to be said, knowing full-well that my salvation comes from him and my hope is from him. In Psalm 62, verse 1 is a statement of truth, verse 5 is a reminder and command. Psalm 38 is reassurance that we have a God who sees us and answers us. In the words of Charles Spurgeon:

Are you mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give [you] victory. Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up.

A faithful emptying of all my stuff, so that there's room in my heart for His.

This is the filling I'm praying for me and for you:

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

These words are better words to fill this space today. I need not fear silence, but rather be encouraged by the careful growth it produces. Lord-willing, my voice will return soon, all the wiser for having stopped to listen and having paused to empty, so that He can fill me.