For one of my assignments I started writing a short story titled, The Silent Conversation. A story about a family sitting around a dinner table, eating dinner. As the meal progresses, the family enter into a stream of arguments and heated disagreements at the dinner table about the problems they have with each other, and things that have taken place: poor behaviour and mannerisms. At the end of the story the family are sitting in silence, eating and smiling with each other. The arguing that the reader read in the story, and thought was going on, was actually only happening in the minds of each family member.
The point of my story was to reflect the internal speech of misplaced external behaviour. The concept of doing one thing, but REALLY saying something else in your heart and mind. Another example of the silent conversation is in the romance text- referencing the film in this specific example, P.S I Love You. Gerry and his wife Holly are having an argument.
Gerry: Do you want to have a baby?
Holly: Do you?
Gerry: Yes, I do.
Holly: See?
Gerry: See what?
Holly: I know what you're really saying even when you don't say it.
Gerry: You mean the two conversations thing. The one we're having and the one you think we're having.
Source: http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/a1/ps-i-love-you-script.html
In just one line, Gerry conveyed complete understanding of the silent conversation. His words; I quote, are, “The one we’re having and the one you think we’re having.” This is exactly what I mean by the silent conversation.
Why is this important? What exactly am I referring to here? Why am I touching upon the silent conversation? This is simply because we are in a season where God is going to deal with OUR silent conversations. The conversation- speech and physical actions (including verbal), we are expressing externally, versus the conversation- speech and mental actions, we are having internally in our hearts and minds. Saying one thing, but meaning, thinking or believing another. The things we are saying underneath the surface. The hidden things that can't be seen or heard by anyone other than ourselves and God.
In order for us to be completely naked and unashamed, completely intimate with God, and move to the next level, He has to deal with the silent conversations in our hearts and minds. He's going to deal with what we think and say about ourselves, about others, about praise and worship, about prayer, about the Word, about what He has said to us, about our families and friends, about our jobs, our communities, even His church- His house, etc. The list is extensive.
He is going to challenge, align and/ or realign, shape, and mould and/ or re-mould EVERY area of our hearts and minds. Every area of our human reasoning or argument(s) that stop us moving forward and forming Christ on the inside of us. He is going to deal with our silent conversations because they are dangerous. Whilst we think our silent conversations are silent because they are internal or, “God knows” thoughts, and think they won't harm us, the manifestation of their thoughts and heart in seed form will become external. Their nature will deteriorate our character, short circuiting our assignment; our destiny.
In the film, Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ultron says,
“I'm going to tear you apart... from the inside!”
This is exactly what un-checked thoughts and heart motives do to us… tear us apart from the inside. Mark 7:15 “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them" (New International Version).
The seeds in our minds and hearts that are not aligned accurately; our silent conversations, will ultimately tear us apart from the inside if not dealt with. It is from within, not from without.
I remember most recently a Word I received from the Lord, “BEWARE OF THE FOXES.” Soon after, the scripture Hebrews 12:1 came to me.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (New Living Translation).
God was warning me that I need to be aware of the things that are catching me out: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually- my silent conversations. It will be these things that derail me. The deep things growing on the inside of me that are self-destructive. As Pastor Michael has spoken about in the NNDC church series, ‘Rediscovering Discipleship,’ the flesh (the things in us that go against God and His plans for us) is self-destructive. There is an urgency for our flesh to die.
In the latter part of the last NNDC blog post, Go Low, it touched upon the heart. The condition of the heart, the condition of our hearts. Following on from this, we need to look at what our hearts are really saying. What our thoughts are really living. What we are speaking that cannot be heard, but undergird our truths: deceptions, visions, beliefs and values, lifestyles, etc. What is it that our silent conversations are really saying to us? What are we saying externally that does not match up internally? We are in a season where we need to start filtering the mouths of our minds and hearts.
God’s mercies and grace are with us. We have the Holy Spirit, and each other. Use this season as a time to start addressing your silent conversations. We have a responsibility and accountability for our lives, our hearts and our minds. For those and things in our world that our silent conversations may affect. What we do, say and think. Not only do they affect us personally, but also corporately. The consequences of not dealing with our silent conversations can be very costly.
What is the cost of God dealing with your silent conversations? Count the cost of letting God deal with your silent conversations. Even pay it. Just like the family in my story, their minds were saying what they really thought, but their actions were expressing an illusion; a deception. They chose not to deal with their personal silent conversations, and continued internally dying with an external illusion of living. Don't catch yourself in the position of the family in my story. Let God deal with your silent conversations in this season.
BY STACEY SPENCER
Image sources
Youtube (P.S. I Love You video clip)
Wendy Corniquet (WenPhotos from Pixabay.com)