Day 2789 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Ecclesiastes 9:17 NIV

Wisdom's power doesn't rely on quantity of words or the loudness with which they're spoken. In fact, wisdom demands a peaceful platform from which to deliver its message because it genuinely wants people to be able to hear the message without the excessive noise that much of the world is lost within. Rather than just being heard, wisdom desires people to actually listen.

I've always been a quiet person, sometimes almost to what many would perceive as awkward. But I've always thought that the world was already loud enough, and I just don't feel the need to add to the noise. I guess I just don't have that need to be seen or heard or to make my presence known. Personally, I don't really care to be the center of attention. I don't need an audience hanging on my every word. This ride I'm on has never been about me, and as I've grown older, I've realized that has been my mindset all along, just didn't ever really stop to think about it.

But in my tendency to approach life as a quiet spectator rather than an obnoxious orator, I've found that peace is in fact not at all hard to find. It's just that this world doesn't really want to find it. Which is actually quite the paradox as many in this place scream about peace and yet fail to realize that their incessant noise and anger and need to have their opinions heard is the very hurdle that makes peace all but an impossibility. And yet, the noise just keeps increasing as many live in fear of a life that isn't heard.

One of the biggest life lessons that I've not only learned but have geared my life toward echoing is that of this verse in Ecclesiastes. Those who talk the most or the loudest don't really have anything to say. They simply exist to be heard not necessarily to say something worth hearing. They simply rely on this excessive volume to display a sense of power and authority to cover the emptiness of their messages. This world seems to honestly believe that power exists in volume or quantity of words.

But society fails to see that you don't have to say a lot to say a lot.

In this broken place that's seeking ways in which to drag people even further into the darkness, we need to understand the importance of our faith, the gravity of the message we carry, and the need to share said message in the most impactful way possible. Now, many in this world are screaming and yelling and bickering with one another trying to gain ground in a war that's already been lost. They're fighting a losing battle thinking that noise or words multiplied will assist them in winning something that they've already forfeited.

We, as Christians, have a faith that tells us that we are on the right side of all that's wrong in this place, and that in the end, our Savior will return to help the rest of the world see that as well. We don't need to go about joining in on making noise just for the sake of being loud. We don't need to tarnish this Gospel by screaming about it like fools thinking that we'll be heard if only we can talk over everyone else. Wisdom doesn't need volume to be powerful. In fact, a whisper in the midst of chaos strikes the heart more powerfully than we imagine.

The Bible tells us of a still small voice that signaled the presence of our Father. He wasn't in the great and powerful wind that tore mountains apart and shattered rocks. He wasn't in the earthquake that followed that violent wind. He wasn't in the fire that ravaged after the earthquake. But after the fire came a gentle whisper in which Elijah heard God. God does display His awesome power in ways that are both humbling and terrifying. But He also whispers His truth into our hearts so that we're not overwhelmed by His presence, and so that His message isn’t lost in the volume.

So often we think that we have to put on some grandiose display in order for our message to be heard. We buy into the ways in which our world behaves and think that we must portray our faith in kind in order to ensure that people hear this message we're carrying. We assume that folks just won't hear us if we're not louder than those around us. But in truth, in a world as loud as this, a whisper will garner more attention than a microphone connected to a million speakers.

That's because it stands out. If we share this Gospel in a way that's radically different from the ways that the world shares all this other nonsense, then people will notice. That's the power of wisdom. It stands out not because it's louder or more obnoxious or more awe-inspiring, but because it isn't fake. It isn't hollow. It's not some empty gesture only undertaken to be heard. Wisdom is a truth that doesn't demand acceptance. Wisdom is a truth that expects rejection but profits those who patiently listen to all it has to say.

Friends, God calls us to be wise among the simple. He asks us to share His Gospel with a world caught up in yelling about everything it stands against. We don't need to do as the Romans do. We need to be different. And the best way to be different from the noise is to present this Gospel as the message it is that does not need volume to be meaningful.

Oddly enough, more will pay attention when we present our message with calmness than should we opt for vexatious fervor. It's not that we're not passionate about the message of Christ. It's just that we don't want to risk tarnishing His message with a loudness that just blends in with the rest of the noise this place loves making. Just as God wasn't in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, we too don't need to make a big scene in order to make a difference.

God's Word will make a difference in the hearts and lives of those who hear it and allow His truth to take root in their souls. We're just the planters. Let's plant wisely. Not all brazen and brash as we think we must be in order to be noticed. But in the realization that being different, being calm, being quiet proves that the power of the Gospel is in the Gospel itself, not the loudness with which it's spoken.

After all, we aren’t heard by being loud. We’re heard by encouraging people to listen. And what better way to encourage people to listen than to speak so softly that they have to actually focus on what we’re saying? In a war of words, it’s not the loudest that win but those that are actually heard. Keep that in mind, especially when it comes to sharing the Gospel.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold