“There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.” (Ecclesiastes 3:7)
Have you ever shared an idea with someone, only to find that shortly after, the zeal to pursue it just disappeared? Worse still, they took that same idea and ran with it before you even had time to fully process it?
It is often said that “Too many cooks spoil the food.”
When something is still in its formative stage, whether it is a dream, a vision, or even a spiritual instruction, it needs protection, not exposure. Not everyone should have access to your kitchen while God is still doing the stirring. In such cases, silence is not just a virtue; it is a safeguard.
These days, it seems like everyone has something to say or post at every opportunity. In fact it is snap and post. If you’re not speaking, tweeting, or sharing, it’s almost as if you don’t exist. Everywhere feels so noisy that silence almost feels outdated.
If you’re silent for too long, people begin to assume you either have nothing substantial going for you or you’re not proud of what you do have. And so, many feel pressured to say something, anything, just to be counted among the relevant.
But when you look at the people in Scripture who actually did something lasting for God, they weren’t everywhere, saying everything. They were quiet when they needed to be, and they didn’t rush to speak just to be heard. Their silence wasn’t weakness. It was restraint. And that restraint was what made their words weighty when it was finally time to speak.
There is wisdom in silence. And there is destruction in careless speech. Some people are not stuck because God didn’t speak. They are stuck because they could not stay silent when God asked them to wait.
Proverbs 29:20 says “Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them.”
Premature Speech Has Truncated Many Divine Mandates
Many assignments have been aborted, not because of disobedience, but because of speaking too soon. Joseph had a dream; a beautiful glimpse of what God had determined to accomplish in his life. But he did the one thing we must learn not to do: he spoke prematurely. Even worse, he spoke to the wrong people about it and handled it naively.
Genesis 37:5 says“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.”
The problem wasn’t the dream, it was the timing and the audience.
Your dream is not just a calling. It is a seed. And seeds must be buried in the right soil, not scattered into any ear that will listen. Some people are soil. Others are stones while many are simply scavengers.
Ideas have been stolen. Ministries hijacked. Assignments derailed. All it took was one careless conversation with the wrong person at the wrong time.
Many people lose divine instructions not because they rejected them, but because they exposed them too early. Some visions are for warfare, not WhatsApp. Some dreams are for travailing, not trending. Some words are to be hidden, nurtured, prayed over, and soaked in worship and prayer before ever being shared.
When the angel visited Mary with the word that she would conceive the Messiah, she didn’t announce it to everyone. Instead, she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
Maturity Knows When to Hold Back
“Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” (Proverbs 17:28)
Spiritual maturity is not about being quiet all the time. It’s about learning to be intentional with your words, not speaking out of pressure or carelessness. It’s not every prompting that must be posted. Not every vision that must be tweeted.
When Jesus Christ was silent while being falsely accused, it wasn’t because He was unsure of Himself. He was discerning. (Mark 14:61)
There is power in holding your peace when provoked. In protecting your vision until it matures. In taking time to pray through your words before releasing them.
Not Every Silence Is Holy
While silence can be a mark of spiritual maturity, not every silence is godly. Silence becomes dangerous when:
– You are enduring abuse and afraid to speak.
– You are hiding pain for the sake of image.
– You refuse help because pride tells you to manage.
– You bury your voice in the name of humility, when it is really fear.
Not every pain should be suffered in silence. Wisdom knows when silence is strength and when silence is suffering.
Discernment Is the Real Mark of Maturity
Maturity isn’t measured by how much you speak or how long you hve been around. It shows in your ability to discern what is needed in the moment, when to speak, when to stay silent, when to step forward, and when to step back. It looks like:
– Knowing when to share and when to wait.
– Knowing when to confront and when to let God fight for you.
– Knowing when to act and when to be still.
There were two scriptures that left me confused the first time I read them, until I realised they were not contradicting each other. They were pointing to something weightier: discernment! These scriptures were showing us that there are times to speak and times to stay quiet.
One verse says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.” (Proverbs 26:4)
But right after that, it says, “Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.” (Proverbs 26:5)
Both are true. There are moments when silence is wisdom, and moments when speaking up is obedience. The difference is discernment.
It’s not just about knowing what to say. It’s about knowing when, how, and if to say it at all. That kind of wisdom only comes from walking closely with the Holy Spirit. He trains your heart to recognise timing and teaches your mouth when to move and when to be still. Not led by emotion, pressure, or fear, but by quiet discernment.
Just because you can speak doesn’t mean you should. And just because others are silent doesn’t mean God is asking you to stay quiet. Silence can be a shield or a snare, depending on whose voice you are listening to.
Visibility Is Not Always Proof of Progress
Pressure to Reveal Is Not Always a Prompt to Obey
One of the traps of our generation is the constant need to prove that you are doing something, becoming something. And so, even the smallest whisper from God feels like it must be broadcast. Post your progress. Announce the idea. Prove you are not idle. Share the update, even if it’s still unfolding.
But what if God is saying, “Not yet”?
What if unveiling it is not your job, but His?
There is a safety in being unknown for a season. Sometimes, what stays hidden is protected, because what people cannot see, they cannot sabotage or manipulate.
Others may be announcing launches, showcasing wins, parading fruit, while you are still holding a fragile seed. But just because everyone is revealing something doesn’t mean you should.
Many people post what looks like light, but it’s just flash. And if you are not secure in God and His will, you’ll get pulled into a performance cycle, trying to prove what God never asked you to perform.
Always remember that what you reveal prematurely, you expose unnecessarily. What is not ready cannot withstand pressure.
Let others run. Let them post.
You, wait for your release from God.
And when God says, “Speak,” speak with fire and clarity, because what you carry will have been formed in secret and built to last.
