Unspoken Words
My wife and I were putting the dishes in the dishwasher and cleaning up after dinner. Yes… I know the macho-male code of household chores 
does not mention dishes and forbids any inside activity that does not include a two foot wrench or the bare wires of a 110-volt electric line, but I was still helping my wife clean up. While I subscribe to the macho-male code, I also know there are exceptions – which are allowable as long as you do not wear an apron, fold clothes, iron, or touch anything that has Martha Stewart’s name on it.
As I was saying… err, I mean writing, I was helping my wife clean up after dinner when one of our children started crying. We glanced at each other and, without saying a word, we both knew the cry was as fake as big time wrestling.
As parents soon learn after the first child, there are many types of crying. When they are younger, you have the “baby is tired” cry, the “baby is hungry” cry, the “baby filled his drawers” cry, and the real actual cry of pain. (By the way, the macho-male code refers to the “baby filled his drawers” cry as a warning for all men to suddenly find something to do in the garage to avoid any activity involving “baby wipes”.) When they grow older, there are similar cries (or whines), such as the “anger cry”, the “I’m old enough to decide where I go whine”, the “I can’t find my yo-yo whine”, and the ever popular, “its not fair cry”.
I find it amazing that parents learn almost as much as infants learn when it comes to the early communication. Most parents understand the gibberish and grunts of their own child. I can still remember my oldest daughter asking my brother-in-law for a drink of water when she was an infant – I understood exactly what she was asking, yet he responded, “Hulk Hogan does what?” 
Communication does not have to include words. We like words, as it is easier to express ourselves and understand each other. Yet I believe a close relationship includes communication that goes beyond words. My wife can communicate with me by giving me just a look… sometimes that look can be extremely threatening (if I describe it any further, I run the risk of becoming the recipient of one of said looks), and other times very loving. She can express herself with a simple nod or gesture that tells me her intentions. She, in turn, can pick up on my subtle signals and know my mood.
Our wordless communication was not instantaneous. We did not go out for the first time and suddenly know each other enough to understand. Nor do parents immediately know the peculiar cries of their babies. This wordless vocabulary is developed through spending time together, through a loving relationship, and by being receptive to the needs of one another.
Isn’t this the same in our communication with the Lord? We have His written Word, which is alive, inspired, and communicates His love for us. Some may be blessed enough to hear the audible voice of the Lord, as Moses did on Mount Sinai, yet most of us must learn His desire for us through the Bible and through what the Holy Spirit communicates to us in a wordless vocabulary.
The Book of Ezekiel foretold this in 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” John confirms this prophesy in
John 14:26, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
In Ezekiel, the Lord tells us His Spirit will “move” us to follow His will. This does not say His Spirit will tell us, or speak to us, but instead, it says His Spirit will move us. In this same way, John tells us the Holy Spirit will teach us “all things”.
With my wife and children, we developed a silent vocabulary through spending time together, through a loving relationship, and by being receptive. The same is true with the Lord: through spending time with His Word and in prayer, we can develop a loving relationship and become receptive to Him. His Spirit will move us and teach us. We will learn His will for our lives in an unspoken communication.
With me, I find His communication in the form of a prompting to do something, or an urge to “move” in a direction I wouldn’t normally move. When I have the desire to do something beyond my comfort zone, I recognize the Lord has something for me to do. The more I respond, the more I come to understand this unspoken vocabulary.
Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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