There is something called “dead air” in broadcasting and theatre. It usually has a negative connotation because it means the audience has been left without entertainment for a sustained period. So generally, theatres and broadcast outlets often plan things to avoid dead air. They do well to keep the audience occupied throughout the duration of the broadcast.

I’m often careful to separate the tenets and normalities of various aspects of life and living, from my own personal life and living, if not we’ll borrow philosophies from different areas of life and think it applicable to our living to.

I speak to young people so often and I’m genuinely concerned for the war against “dead air” in our lives, especially as we journey in youthfulness.

We think something always has to be happening, something grand, something significant, something captivating. And I’m concerned that this desire keeps us in a rat race to keep the stage of our lives always busy, forgetting that unlike the audience in a theatre, our one-person audience isn’t looking for entertainment or occupancy, but for us.

No theatre wants to see the actors and actresses just stand on the stage. They always want them doing something, maybe talking, singing, miming, dancing or even crying. The theatre audience wants some sort of action.

But our life’s one-man audience just wants to look and see us, looking right back at Him, because He gives the motion, the script and the next steps.

Dead air is actually encouraged with our personal life script because we don’t always need to know the next scene, we can stay and just behold our one-man audience.

I have personal moments where I close my eyes and see myself sitting still on a stage, arms wrapped around my held up knees, simply looking eyeball to eyeball with Abba. No motion on the stage, just a standoff stare match… haha

It takes pressure off, to keep an audience entertained, because this one-man audience just wants to see you behold Him, and as you do, scripture says we are transformed.

As young people, we’re said to have the energy, the time and the ideas and while its seed time according to the clock of life, we must remember that there’s also seed in dead air, when we sit and simply behold.

I really hope this encourages you to take off your costume, clear out your stage and simple sit. Maybe the reason your stage is often so busy with motion is because it’s an audience packed with too many people. The pressure to perform for them might be overwhelming you, so clear out that stage and that audience. Ideally only one person out there matters, and once you catch His gaze, take a breath and sit, listening and looking out for only His instruction to get into motion.

And truthfully, from Jesus visit to Martha and Mary’s home in Luke 10, we will see that dead air characterises the stage much more than the routine futile motion often fuelled by fear, self, and the insignificant members of the audience.

Embrace dead air seasons, unlike in broadcasting and theatre, they actually serve a purpose.