Just the other day...I sat on the floor, begging God to acknowledge me. He was silent. I confessed any sin I could possibly think of and yet...He was silent. I sat in the stillness for a while. Warm tears trickled down my face and I sniffled and snubbed and begged Him to come to me. Still, He was silent. After awhile, I got on the internet and did a search for "when God is silent". I stayed awake much longer than I should have listening to a two part sermon on His silence. Part of me understood it a little more, maybe. But do you know what?
None of it took away the hurt.
It felt like a death.
In the days that followed, it occurred to me...this is just a very tiny glimpse of the pain Jesus felt as He hung on the cross. When He cried out, "My God, my God...why have you forsaken me?", He was literally experiencing the feeling of "divine abandonment". Jesus was made to suffer the loss of the most precious gift in all of the universe...intimacy with the Father. It was torturous.
I know the Word of God says He will always be with us. It's a part of Jesus's promise to us right before He ascended into Heaven. I believe in that promise! However, I also know that there are times that all of us go through feeling like God is far away and distant. When God seems distant for no apparent reason, it is confusing!
Sometimes His distance feels harsh. However, in the case of sin and disobedience, God's distance can actually prove His love for you! He cares about you, therefore He WILL discipline you.
In time, God used a memory of my 3rd grade teacher to help me see what He was doing in my life. She had a special tactic up her sleeve when it came to keeping order in the classroom. If she was lecturing and other students decided to talk in the back of the room, she would stop and stare at them. In the silence, the few rule-breakers would realize they were the only ones still talking. Suddenly, in embarrassment, they would stop and turn their full attention back to the teacher.
Through His silence and the pain it caused me, He certainly got my attention! I was praying and reading the Word, but I had somewhat slipped into "going-through-the-motions" of our relationship. God is too much of a romantic to allow such a thing to happen! It's like going on a date and being there, but not really being there...like the time I was on a date with my husband and he accidentally kept paying attention to a sporting event on TV!
With help from a trusted friend, I realized that I had put God in a box (so to speak). His silence brought me to a place of knowing...
He has WAY more to show me, but He needs my full attention. He has new things for me to discover!
He's not done with me.
He's not done with you, either.
He has SO much He wants to teach us and reveal to us! He loves us too much to allow us to get comfortable where we are.
I realized that...
Christianity is like a grand dance with the Lover of Our Souls. Sometimes it's fast; sometimes it's slow. It involves great partnering skills -- one to lead and one to follow. The constant movement of the two together creates beauty and splendor. And if there wasn't continual motion and change, it wouldn't be called a dance. It would be called a "stand still".
So, I laced up my shoes, grabbed His outstretched hand, and let Him lead me back on the dance floor.
For His glory,
None of it took away the hurt.
It felt like a death.
In the days that followed, it occurred to me...this is just a very tiny glimpse of the pain Jesus felt as He hung on the cross. When He cried out, "My God, my God...why have you forsaken me?", He was literally experiencing the feeling of "divine abandonment". Jesus was made to suffer the loss of the most precious gift in all of the universe...intimacy with the Father. It was torturous.
I know the Word of God says He will always be with us. It's a part of Jesus's promise to us right before He ascended into Heaven. I believe in that promise! However, I also know that there are times that all of us go through feeling like God is far away and distant. When God seems distant for no apparent reason, it is confusing!
Sometimes His distance feels harsh. However, in the case of sin and disobedience, God's distance can actually prove His love for you! He cares about you, therefore He WILL discipline you.
"My child, don't reject the Lord's discipline, and don't be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights."
Prov 3: 11 - 12
Sometimes God is silent because He's simply trying to get our attention!
It works.
Through His silence and the pain it caused me, He certainly got my attention! I was praying and reading the Word, but I had somewhat slipped into "going-through-the-motions" of our relationship. God is too much of a romantic to allow such a thing to happen! It's like going on a date and being there, but not really being there...like the time I was on a date with my husband and he accidentally kept paying attention to a sporting event on TV!
With help from a trusted friend, I realized that I had put God in a box (so to speak). His silence brought me to a place of knowing...
He has WAY more to show me, but He needs my full attention. He has new things for me to discover!
He's not done with me.
He's not done with you, either.
He has SO much He wants to teach us and reveal to us! He loves us too much to allow us to get comfortable where we are.
I realized that...
Christianity is like a grand dance with the Lover of Our Souls. Sometimes it's fast; sometimes it's slow. It involves great partnering skills -- one to lead and one to follow. The constant movement of the two together creates beauty and splendor. And if there wasn't continual motion and change, it wouldn't be called a dance. It would be called a "stand still".
God doesn't want any of us standing still!
He wants us fully engaged in the divine dance!
He's reaching out to you as well.
Will you take His hand?
"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer..."
For His glory,
