09/25/2026
โฆas a sheep before its shearers is silent, He opened not His mouth.โ
Isaiah 53:7c
Meditated some on this verse this morning.
I often focus so much on the words Jesus said, but lately Iโve been paying close attention to (and learning from) the moments He chose not to speak, and instead remained silentโฆ
Hereโs what Iโm learning:
A facet of gentleness (a fruit of the Spirit, by the way) is having the discernment to pause and recognize the TYPE of conversation Iโm being invited into.
There are times when conversationsโฆthe very approach to the conversationโฆcan be contemptuous, hostile, accusatory, and even punitive.
The conversation is not about moving toward peace, understanding, or truth.
It is functioning more like a prosecution.
The goal seems less about understanding one another and more about establishing guilt, proving a case, or making someone feel the weight of a verdict already reached.
Jesus paused and had discernment to know what kind of conversation He was actually being invited into.
He didnโt just look at the content of the conversation, the questions being asked, or the points being made. He discerned what others were trying to do with Him in that moment and what they were actually trying to accomplish.
And there were times He chose to remain silent. Not engage it.
Not out of arrogance. Not as a power move. Not as a means of controlling or punishing the people in front of Him.
But out of gentleness.
Strength under restraint.
โโฆas a sheep before its shearers is silent, He opened not His mouth.โ
Isaiah 53:7c
Picture this:
A sheep being sheared is in an incredibly vulnerable posture.
Someone else has a hold of it.
It is being โhandled.โ
It cannot control what is happening around it.
Its covering is being removed.
There are BLADES right against its skin.
What happens when someoneโs words come at you like a blade?
What happens when someone starts hurling accusations at you? At your faith? At something you believe deeply, or even your position on one of todayโs hot-button issues?
What happens when the points being made are less about coming to a mutual place of truth and understandingโand instead seem intended to pierce you or put you on trial?
Jesus IS TRUTH.
He could have easily dismantled every single accusation.
And yetโฆthere were moments when TRUTH Himself allowed others to hold onto completely false or distorted conclusions about Him without correcting them.
There were times He remained silent.
Not as a hard rule.
Not to say, โWhen anyone mistreats me, I say nothing.โ
(There were, in fact, times He did respond, rebuke, teach, and confront.)
But He knew when and when NOT to speak and respond.
He was free to speak.
He was free NOT to speak.
But He was NEVER compelled to defend Himself.
Silence can be uncomfortable.
Silence can be vulnerable.
Because silence means weโve relinquished the ability to manage the outcome of the conversation.
Thatโs why silenceโin this type of scenarioโhas to come from gentleness as its source.
Gentleness can possess the strength to respond, know what could be said, and yet choose to restrain that strength.
Itโs a FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. (To be clear, Iโm not talking about silence that comes from timidity, fear, insecurity, avoidance, or an inability to speak up for yourself. Iโm talking about having the strength and ability to respond. Yet, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, choosing restraint.)
We do not have to accept every invitation to defend, explain, or correct.
And goodness, thereโs probably something here for all of us in the age of social mediaโฆ
Not every post we disagree with requires our comment.
Not every comment directed toward us requires an answer.
Not every inaccurate statement needs our correction.
Not every debate needs our participation.
We can get yanked into conversations simply because something in us reacts to what was said.
But gentleness teaches us to pause before we engage and ask:
What kind of conversation is this actually inviting me into?
And even more importantly:
Is God asking me to enter it?
