I have shared before that I that I have not been hearing God recently.
He has been silent!
Not so, He hasn't. He has been with me all this while. How do I know? Because in His silence, He told me so.
How? You may asked.
I learned from my devotional reading in Utmost for His Highest that God's silence is actually His answer. Take the story of Lazarus of Bethany for example. In John 11, we read that Jesus loved Lazarus but yet when he heard that Lazarus was dying, He tallied two more days before going to Bethany. By the time He arrived, Lazarus was in the tomb for 4 days. Martha said that if Jesus was around earlier, Lazarus would not have died.
Let's try to imagine in impact of the silence in Lazarus' home that week. Mary and Martha and the household must have been praying and earnestly waiting for Jesus to come visit them. They have seen His power. They knew Jesus loved Lazarus and would surely come and heal him. And yet, for those two agonizing days while Lazarus' life was ebbing away, there was no sign of Jesus but only silence. In the spiritual realm, however, help was on the way. And finally, Lazarus was raised to life!
Oswald Chambers asked, "Can God trust you with His silence?" When we are in need and praying for an answer, God can answer if He wants to. And He does. But as we mature in our walk with Him, He brings us to the next level of relationship with Him; a level of deep trust.
Oswald further said, "When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes."
I learned that as long as I trust Him, He will never leave me nor forsake me. I do not have to look for the answer to my prayers to know that He cares. The answer will come, in His time. More importantly, as soon as I realize that my prayers are for bringing glory to the Father and not for me to keep asking for His blessings upon me, He will start trusting me with His silence.
His silence does not mean His absence. On the contrary, it shows that His relationship with me is getting into the intimate level. Praise the Lord for His silence!
God bless.
Steven
Hi Steven
ReplyDeleteSomeone shared with me once on a story .. there were 3 persons standing there when God walks by. God stops at the 1st peron and gave him a hug, when God reaches the 2nd person He gave a tap on his shoulder, as the the 3rd person God just walked pass him. I was asked what is my take away on this story....
for the 1st person God knows he is a young christian and that he needed to know God loves him. To the 2nd person God knows he is doing well and walking in the light of God. As for the 3rd person - do you think God do not love him. It is on the contrary - his relationship is so good with God that God do not need to stop by to hug, to comfort as he knows God is always there beside him. You are that 3rd person at the intimate level with God.
In His presence and in Him we trust.
I know it is not easy especially when you are in a "lost" situation. In due time, we know God is answering our prayers in His very special way. Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace upon us.