Recently I was struck by a quote of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s which says,
“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
This quote parallels the verses in Psalm 19 which tell us much the same thing.
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19:1-3
The message in both of these passages in light of the silence of God seems to be,
When God seems silent look around.
Let’s not sit around and pluck blackberries.
Let us be a people who take our shoes off because we are aware of God’s Presence.
Let us be a people who listen with our hearts and eyes as much as our ears.