June 20
Quiet Confidence
The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
––Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV
Everyone seems to have an opinion, and the volume at which those opinions are being shared seems to be increasing. Talk to any teacher, however, and they will confirm: it’s the quiet voice that gets the attention. Have you seen this in action? Let’s say Mrs. Jones’s 11th grade American Lit class is loud and she starts to speak in a quiet voice. Eventually—though it can take time—the class quiets down.
Rarely in the Word do you see the Lord speaking loudly. In fact, He typically comes in a whisper. After the commotion on Mt. Horeb when Elijah called down fire and defeated the priests of Baal, he fled into the desert to escape the wrath of Jezebel. There the Lord confronted him:
After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. ––1 Kings 19:11-13
While the world shouts—and tries to outshout each other—our example is Jesus, who exudes quiet confidence. The only time I can see when Jesus raised His voice is when he confronted the money-changers in the Temple. (Yes, sometimes a loud voice serves a purpose.) Otherwise, He speaks and doesn’t shout. That’s what quiet confidence looks like—it doesn’t need to gain attention through brash loudness.
Man of God, the closer you grow to Christ, the more confident you will become in your identity as His son. That confidence, over time, will produce in you a transformation from the inside out. Less anger; more genuine confidence in your position in Christ, less need to say to the world, “Look and listen to me.” Quiet confidence. True strength.
There’s definitely a time and place for shouting; the Word instructs us to shout to the Lord in our praise and worship of Him (Psalm 98:4-9; Psalm 47:1; Joshua 6:5, etc.). But God doesn’t need us to scream at others to get their attention on His behalf. Our love and acts of service shout louder than our voices ever could.
Father, while the world shouts at each other, help me walk in the confidence of Your power and might, and speak in words that lift up, rather than tear down.