"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong" (Ecclesiastes 5:1).

What is the "sacrifice of fools"? It is telling God all about ourselves. The prayer of the pharisee in Jesus' story found in Luke 18:9-14 is a prime example. Jesus' point is simple, "God isn't listening."

Our text is followed with these words: "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few" (Eccl. 5:2). Which of us is not guilty in the face of this wisdom?

Why is it that we need to speak so much, even in the presence of God? Sometimes to justify ourselves. We attempt to convince God that we are not as bad as we know that we are. We make excuses for our bad behaviour, and he should let us be who we are.

Sometimes, because we believe that God's laws are unfair. We need to explain to him that He needs to lower the bar. No one can really measure up to those standards.

Since we have so much to talk about, why should we be silent? So that God can speak.

Silence is the discipline that puts a stopper to our self justifications. When we stop talking, God can tell us that there is no justification for our wrong, nor for our lack of love. He will tell us that we are as evil as we think we are. Maybe that is why we don't want Him to talk.

But then God will also tell us that our sin is gone. He remembers it no more. There is no excuse for our sinful behaviour, so God forgives us. Christ died for our sins. We are deeply loved. When we stop talking, we give God an opportunity to tell us this.

Also, speech is the most powerful weapon in our attempts to control others and our own reputations. Our tongues are full of manipulation and control.

In the silence, God can remind us that any control we think we have is just an illusion. Isn't that really what's behind God's question to Elijah, "What are you doing here?" Elijah had come to think that he oversaw Israel's spiritual wellbeing, which was in freefall. But God says to Elijah, "I got this, don't worry" (1 Kings 19). There is one who is truly in control and that is God. Only in that silence can our souls truly find rest.

This is why Sabbath is so important. Work often becomes an avenue by which we control our lives. Only in Sabbath silence do we discover that we cannot control our lives through work. Only God can control.

James reminds us that the tongue is difficult to control. We know this to be true. Yet we must not forget that Paul wrote that we have been set free for freedom's sake (Gal. 5:1). An element of that freedom is the freedom to be silent.

In our silence we hear the small still voice of God that our fears are unjustified. In silence we discover the most profound truth: we are not God, God is. And that is good news.

As you journey on, go with his blessing:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.