Devotional – The Latent Man

Urgency in the sound &Power in the Silence

“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

We wait for the loudest sound before we act. Not much will clear a ball field or a swimming pool quicker than a roll of thunder or a crack of lightning. We all see it coming. The wind picks up, and the gray, angry clouds roll in, but we still sit there, watching the sky, commenting on whether we should pack up or wait it out, and finally we run for cover as the clouds spark.

There is a seeming power in sound. The throaty roll of an engine coming to life or the roar of the crowd as the cheering intensifies. We are drawn to believe that what is loudest holds the greatest power — that volume commands influence. And though there is truth in the thunder, not all strength needs to shout. Sometimes, power moves in silence, and influence flows in barely audible whispers

After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. – 1 Kings 19:12

The most powerful forces in nature occur in the vastness of the universe. Exploding stars, massive black holes, and Gamma bursts produce unimaginable forces in absolute silence.

I think we have fallen for the folly that to be successful, you have to have a platform that makes noise. You have the bang your drum and stand before an audience of thousands to have an impact. Those ways can be good, and they have their place, but we must not forget about Betelgeuse.

Betelgeuse is a red super-giant star in the constellation of Orion, and when Betelgeuse goes supernova, it is said it will shine in our night sky brighter than the moon for several months. Everyone on Earth will look up and take notice, and will be impacted by the beauty or just be in awe of the powerful mute death of a star.

A silent hug, or a whisper of encouragement in a friends ear can feel like a supernova inside someone who is hurting. A hand on a shoulder or your best friend showing up in an ER waiting room, without saying a word, can feel indescribable.

For the ones who are hurting, God may have you where your voice is not heard, or you feel like you aren’t seen. You may believe you aren’t impacting much of anything and in those times discouragement can creep in, grip you, and tell you, you are worthless.

Take that time to listen, to look. God maybe moving in silence. Take this blog for instance, it hasn’t blown up with hundreds of followers in over the couple of years I have been posting. When I started, I imagined I’d be answering emails and messages from readers and it would take up so much of my time and I would be connecting with people from all over the world but In fact, I can admit, it only has a handful of people who even know it exists. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t carry weight or have any impact at all. Maybe God didn’t mean this platform for the world, maybe he meant it for me. There are days when I’m discouraged, and I look back and I read one of my posts, and my very own words cheer me up and give me insight. They are old thoughts in a new season, and like the immense events of the heavens, these words on the screen don’t make a sound.

If you must shout, then shout resoundingly with purpose. But if the moment allows, move with quiet intent—
For silence can strike as powerfully as sound. If you have ever witnessed heat lightning then you know the silent flashes that can wink across a summer sky. Does the lightning lose strength for not roaring like the thunder?

In your experience does the squeaky wheel get the grease or is there something to be said for for quiet authority?

Keep developing yourself and to my future self who is reading this, don’t give up, you are loved.

I thought about sharing, the sound of silence, by Simon and Garfunkel (the remake by Disturbed is amazing in my opinion but I thought this fit better, so enjoy some classic Depeche Mode.

Peace and…

My five-year-old daughter loves to sing. In a single car ride, she will serenade you with her renditions of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer”, and a finale of “I Love Rock n’ Roll”.

I usually enjoy the entire car seat concert but my love for my daughter’s singing prows isn’t shared by her brother. While she is belting out partially correct lyrics, my son is pleading for her to stop while he holds his hands over his ears next to her in the back seat. His pleading usually ends with him yelling, “I just want peace!”

Working as a peace officer I’ve answered numerous calls where people want me to give them what my title suggests, peace. from the neighbor’s kids with the loud go-cart or from the landscaping crew doing the lawn next door. I even had someone call 911 because a helicopter flying over was making too much noise.

As I began to think through all these incidents and back to my son’s pleading in the car, I began to realize that our cries for peace are masking what we really want, control.

My son doesn’t like what my daughter is singing not because it interrupts his peace, but because it’s not his music and it’s not him singing it. As soon as I put a song on that he likes he will begin to sing along just as loud as my daughter and when she tries to join in, he will shush her. He never wanted peace, he wanted control.

Dictionary.com’s definition of peace is to end hostilities and abstain from further fighting or antagonism. I think we are looking for more than that. Yes, it feels good to not fight but you can have tension and uneasiness and not be openly engaged in an argument or fight.

In the Bible, the word peace is mentioned a total of 328 times. What’s interesting is the word peace in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word, Shalom. While the word peace in the New Testament is the Greek word, eiréné (i-ray’-nay) Shalom means completeness, soundness, and welfare. Eiréné means one, peace, quietness, and rest.

Compare our word for peace today against the biblical definition of peace and you can see a vast difference. It’s not just the absence of conflict but it’s a complete state of being made whole. If your world were to crumble around you, control and worldly peace would fail you. But true peace isn’t only attainable it’s promised to us by God.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:7

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts you. -Isaiah 26:3

God holds this perfect peace in such high regard He is called the God of Peace ( 1 Thessalonians 5:23) and the Prince of Peace is one of many titles given to Christ in Isaiah 9:6 before his birth.

Next time you yell, “I just want some peace and quiet!”, know you are just wanting to regain control. No one can give you the peace described in the Bible aside from God and once you have it, it is amazing. As a deputy sheriff, a husband, and a father I have been in some crazy and bizarre circumstances and while others are losing their minds, I’ve found myself calm and focused. It doesn’t mean you are immune from stress or the weight of things won’t get to you. Trust me, stress and turmoil feel like they live rent-free in my life sometimes. Daily I have to turn to one or more of the verses above while massaging my temples and closing my eyes to make it through the first part of my day, and I don’t drink coffee, so prayer is appreciated. But what having that inner peace means is you’ll be able to cope better than let’s say Kramer from “Seinfeld” who repeats the mantra, “Serenity now.” when things go wrong. By the end of that particular episode, Kramer loses it as he just bottled up the anger until he eventually blew up. It wasn’t true serenity or peace.

I’ve typed it before, life isn’t easy and sometimes it downright sucks but I want you to know, that even if quiet never comes you can at least have a peace that surpasses all understanding.

I said I’d have a project update coming soon but I don’t. My woodworking tools have sat quietly in the garage while I recover from surgery. So for now I will focus more on writing and will have more to share on that front soon. I hope you all are well and you continue to develop yourself.

Shalom Shalom (Perfect Peace) my friends.

Throwing Powder

Love covers a multitude of sins, theatrics hides the rest. No one knows theatrics better than the parent of a three-year-old girl. Tell her, “No.” and the performance that follows surely would win an academy award but it’s not just small children who, strut and fret their hour on the stage.

We all perform our little plays to one another, performing little dances to get our way, hide our feelings from others or hide the truth from ourselves. In essence, we lie to one another, and ourselves, on a daily basis.

And, after all, what is a lie? ‘Tis but the truth in masquerade
-Lord Byron

As a crime scene investigator, I often run into the CSI effect. It’s when the general public indulges in true crime shows and forensic thrillers until they believe everything they have watched is gospel and I, a real-life CSI, should be able to do it all. In those instances the victim does not want to hear, I’m sorry there is nothing I can do. They want it solved in an hour with commercial breaks. Instead of arguing with their delusion about my job, I “throw powder“. I will go through the theatrics of processing a scene, of throwing fingerprint powder around, knowing that I will not recover any evidence for one reason or the other. I lie to make the victim feel as though something more is being done when in reality nothing more, at least at that time, can be done.

A couple of days ago, I watched the movie, Constantine (I like movies that involve the supernatural but aren’t focused on brutal gore) I went on about my life until the following day, during my quiet time, I was reading through the book of Acts where Paul and the other apostles spread the teachings of Christ, healing, and casting out demons. That is when I began thinking about scenes in movies where an exorcist is trying to remove a demon. They need special items like mirrors and holy water, or relics like the bones of a saint, and many times they need a lot of time to do battle with the demon.

Acts 16:18 Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

Paul didn’t need bones, holy water, or a praying montage with music and cut scenes. The demon came out at Paul’s command. How short and boring would movies like the Exorcist be if they portrayed the true power of God?

To tell you the truth, I’m bad at lying and I’m glad about it. Where in your life do you use theatrics, throwing powder even for seemingly good reasons, and do you ever think it’s okay? What are some of your favorite movies that are overly dramatic but you like them anyway?

I hope you have a good week, and keep developing yourself. A project update will be coming soon.

Don’t be a Philistine

I love it when the Old Testament speaks to me. As a Christian, I expect the New Testament to hold words of encouragement and direction but oftentimes I skip over the thousands of years worth of wisdom the Old Testament has to offer. I had decided to dive into 1 Samuel, the reasoning behind which slips my mind, but when I finished reading, it spoke to me.

Here’s a quick synopsis. Israel goes out to fight the Philistines. They of course bring along the Ark of God. Why not, right? Unfortunately for Israel, the Philistine army was victorious and took the ark. The Philistines, like a dog who finally catches a car, were excited but had no idea what to do with it. They put the ark in a temple to their god and their god’s statue kept falling over and breaking. So they moved it around from town to town. Wherever it went destruction and disease followed (tumors to be exact. gross). The Philistines finally realized the ark needed to go and sent it packing back to Israel.

Have you ever brought something into your life that you knew wasn’t for you? Then when bad things happened, instead of getting rid of it right away, you move it around as the Philistines did with the ark. You justify why you should keep it in your life. It took the Philistines 7 months before they got rid of the ark. They lost crops and people died but they held on stubbornly. You can’t see it, but I’m raising my hand. I’ve made excuses and moved junk/sin around in my life instead of just saying, this isn’t for me and letting go. Examine what is causing you pain. What is bringing destruction into your life? Is God trying to tell you to get rid of what doesn’t belong to you? Are you moving it around in your life to justify keeping it? Don’t be a Philistine.

What is your favorite book of the Old Testament and are you as guilty as I am at ignoring the first half of the bible?

Laughter is the hand of God on the shoulder of a troubled world. -unknown