Silent Friendship

Psalm 19:1-4, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." 

Romans 1:20 says it another way, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-His eternal power and Divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

In youth group someone once sang a song called "Silent Friendship".  I thought of my high school best friend and that we indeed had a silent friendship where there could be comfort in the silence and not that awkward need for words to fill the air.  The evidence of friendship was still present.  Now granted, there are times when words must be spoken as we are called to walk alongside our friends calling them to authentic relationship with God, with us, with others...to rebuke, encourage, love them. 

And I think back to this Psalm and my own feelings of the evidence of God as I stand in His nature.  Dr. Constable describes: "the presence of the heavenly host is a non-verbal testimony of God's existence that reaches every part of the planet-everyone, regardless of his or her language, can understand," and referring to this "wordless speech".  For sure there are times when we need to cry out all the grace and mercy God has shown us and the Bible tells us if we do not cry out that, indeed, the rocks will (Luke 19:40).  And we need to use our words to talk to our Abba Father.  But there are times, when we don't have the words...when our hurt is so deep that the words won't come.  When we can sit in our silent friendship with our Creator and the Holy Spirit intercedes in groans for us.  

I dearly love my high school best friend and the comfort of her silent friendship back then.  It hit me that as much as I loved this earlthy relationship there is another silent friendship that was always there with me and will always be with me.  His love never fails.  And when I get faint, all I have to do is look up and see the evidence of His unfailing love.