It’s Better To Remain Silent
When doubt, anxiety, fear, and worry threaten to overwhelm your mind and heart, resist the urge to speak words of negativity and doubt. Instead, if you can’t declare God’s Word, it’s better to stay silent. This timely word from God will encourage and bless you.
By Dianna Hobbs // Your Daily Cup of Inspiration
Photo Credit: Getty/Catherine Delahaye
This morning, I reflected on the darkest depths of my struggle—the times when brain trauma blurred my perspective and stole my natural optimism. This injury, a formidable challenge, often distorts my emotions, dragging me into negativity despite my best efforts to stay positive.
When God speaks a word of promise, my mind, wounded yet still active, conjures a contradiction that opposes the very goodness He declares. It feels like a constant battle—an inner war fiercer than anything I’ve ever faced. While my medical team describes this as a normal response to the injury, I sense a deeper, spiritual dimension at work. Whether or not we’ve endured brain trauma, we all wrestle with our thoughts, struggling at times to align our beliefs with God’s Word in the face of overwhelming opposition.
Rising to the challenge of 2 Corinthians 10:5, which calls us to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,” and to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,” is no easy task. Yet, it is precisely this discipline that strengthens our faith and empowers us to overcome the lies that threaten to undermine the truth of God's promises. Even in the struggle, we cannot allow ourselves to retreat from speaking God's truth, no matter how loudly our circumstances shout the contrary.
I’ll admit it. There have been seasons when I failed miserably in this area. Doubt and fear poured from my lips until God, in His wisdom, enacted what I now call a “divine gag order.”
Wondering what that is? Well, He essentially told me, "If you cannot speak faith, Dianna, it's better to remain silent than to sow doubt over your situation."
I never forgot those words.
Has God ever silenced you in a similar way, friend? Has He spoken against negativity and commanded you to speak only what edifies, what builds up, what proclaims His promises—no matter how your circumstances appear?
A Story of Doubt and Faith
Like us, many heroes of the Bible faced moments when God’s promises seemed to conflict with their reality, and in their struggle, they spoke doubt rather than faith. In fact, there is an example in Scripture where a divine gag order was placed on one of God’s servants. To see this unfold, let’s look at the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah in Luke 1.
At the time, Elizabeth, who would later give birth to John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, was burdened by the stigma of barrenness. She and her husband Zechariah had been unable to conceive in a culture that viewed children as a sign of God’s blessing, and childlessness as a curse.
In Luke 1:6, Scripture testifies that "Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations." They were a couple wholly committed to serving the Kingdom, and yet, the visible manifestation of God's favor eluded them.
I wonder if you've ever felt this disconnect between your inner commitment to God and your outward circumstances. Have you yearned for tangible proof that righteousness yields blessing? This is where many of us find ourselves – righteous yet barren, righteous yet struggling, righteous yet restless, righteous yet reeling, righteous yet rocked by life. These contradictory seasons can leave us questioning God's plans and doubting His promises. But it is in these moments we must remember that delay is never denial.
“Speak only faith or don’t speak at all. The atmosphere you set with your words is crucial to the manifestation of His Word.”
The Divine Gag Order
For these two righteous servants of God in Luke 1, the answer—the breakthrough, the promise—came in a burst of angelic revelation. Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, proclaiming that his prayers had been heard and that his wife would bear a son (v. 13).
The angel also prophesied a powerful word about the couple’s yet-to-be-born seed: “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17 NIV).
Yet, despite this divine promise and exciting prophecy about their family’s destiny, Zechariah allowed doubt to creep in. Instead of responding with elation, worship, and praise, immediately after the word was released he questioned, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years” (v. 18).
Confronted with a prophecy, Zechariah countered with reality, doubting how such a miracle could happen at their advanced age. When was the last time you asked God, “How can I be sure?” We’ve all been there at some point. I know I certainly have!
Rather than addressing Zechariah’s skepticism, God issued a divine gag order: “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time” (v. 20).
Instead of allowing Zechariah to speak death over his destiny, God rendered him mute until the fulfillment of the prophecy. In God’s eyes, it’s better to remain silent than to speak doubt. It’s better to say nothing at all than to let fear have the final word. It’s better to hold your tongue than to allow unbelief to undermine your faith. When you cannot speak faith, God would rather you say nothing at all.
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Arrest Those Thoughts
Think of it this way: when it comes to negative thoughts and words of doubt, you have the right to remain silent. In fact, you must. Anything you say that contradicts God’s promises can and will be used against you, eroding your faith and silencing your hope. So when fear, worry, and doubt rise up, arrest those thoughts immediately.
Declare a divine gag order on anything that doesn’t align with the truth of God’s Word. Instead, speak only what builds up, what edifies, and what glorifies the One who never fails.
He never fails.
Consider this: the amazing breakthrough for Zechariah and Elizabeth came not in the season of youth and optimism but in the twilight of their lives, when hope seemed lost. They had been believing for years, serving in ministry diligently, yet seeing no change. But God's power is not constrained by our human limitations. His promise is not diminished by the passage of time. Elizabeth's womb, once a symbol of curse, became a vessel for divine promise—just as the Lord said!
So, I ask you, friend, are there some thoughts you need to arrest and put in custody? Are you exercising your right to remain silent, or are you allowing doubt to speak louder than faith? Has delay caused you to question God's goodness?
Remember, your barren season will end. Your prayers have been heard, even if the manifestation takes time. Hold fast to the promise that God will open your womb, and you will give birth to the promises He has conceived within you.
I believe God sent you here today to connect you to a partner in faith. Together, let us impose a divine gag order on unbelief. A divine gag order on the whispers of doubt that creep in during the waiting, on the fears that fester in the fertile soil of uncertainty. A divine gag order on anything that seeks to silence the proclamation of God's faithfulness, on the doubts that dare to contradict His unfailing promises.
Let us choose instead to speak the language of faith, to proclaim the Word of God even when our circumstances contradict His promises. As Luke 1:37 NLT declares—this is the sweetener I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration—"For the word of God will never fail."
As you drink down the contents of your cup, know that what God has spoken, He will perform. I have been assigned to prophesy this over you: your season of breakthrough is coming. And it is so.
In the meantime, however, you must hold fast to faith. Remain confident in the midst of affliction. Arrest every word, every thought, every attitude that defies the truth of God’s Word.
And remember this: God, who has promised to make you fruitful, to bless and prosper you, will do what He said. His word will never fail.
Now, let’s pray.
Father, in the waiting, when my circumstances contradict Your promises, help me cling to the truth that You will open my womb, that I will give birth to the promises You have conceived within me. Today, I make this declaration: I will hold fast to faith, remaining confident in the midst of affliction, knowing that You will do what You said and that Your word will never fail. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
Watch the video for Dianna Hobbs’ worship anthem, “Don’t Know Why,” and be blessed!
