To be strong, to steer straight onward, to dare to praise God, to sit alone and keep silence because He has laid it upon us, to put our mouths into the dust, if so, be there may be hope here is fortitude indeed. – Reverend Dr. F.B. Meyer

https://bibleportal.com/sermons/author/f.b.+meyer?page=2

Someone posed a question to me yesterday. They asked me how we could help people in our sphere of influence (nearly everyone we see) and church look to the Lord, grow faith, experience joy, peace and hope in the midst of the difficult situations that they are currently facing?

I could really appreciate the question.

I am absolutely certain God appreciates the depth of the question also.

Psalm 28:1-2The Message

28 Don’t turn a deaf ear
    when I call you, God.
If all I get from you is
    deafening silence,
I’d be better off
    in the Black Hole.

² I’m letting you know what I need,
    calling out for help
And lifting my arms
    toward your inner sanctuary.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

I am going begin this devotion by asking everyone who comes to read these words of devotion very deep and very intimate, wildly personal questions.

Have you ever felt that God was giving you the “silent treatment”?

Have you given any serious or hyper-quality time and thought about how might, or indeed, you should respond when God in Heaven seems distant?

Every one of us has dreams and goals in our heart.

There are very definite and very personal promises that we are all standing on.

Maybe you are believing on God for a breakthrough in your job, your career, your ministry, your children, breakthrough in your family, retirement etc.

Deep down you know and believe that God has spoken that to you. But so often because it is taking a long time and you are not seeing any signs from God; you are getting discouraged.

You ask, seek, and knock all the live long day and dream about it throughout the night, except the only response is “the silent treatment.” You are making all the noise, but God is remaining painfully quiet. On the other side, the devil is telling you that you are going to lose, and you are trying your level best to hold on.

The reason many people do not see God’s promises come to pass is because they get discouraged and give up too soon. Just because you do not see anything does not mean that God is not working for you. Just because you cannot see what God is doing, that does not mean that God will not fulfil your promises.

God is faithful to his word. All of his promises are yes and amen.

1. Human response to God’s silence.

Many times, when we do not see anything in the natural, we cry out in despair.

We get too soon disappointed and discouraged. People get confused which will eventually lead to doubt, guilt (Some people feel they have sinned and are being punished), anger and fear. These are all evidentiary signs of giving up in life.

Psalm 28:1-2 1To you, LORD, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit. 2Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

Habakkuk 1:2 How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?

Men and women throughout the Bible have consistently, decisively voiced their measure of disappointment when they have felt heaven was silent.

Here they are crying out to God because God is silent towards them.

They could not see anything happening in their lives, they were getting fearful and losing hope.

I understand some of you are in your silent years in certain areas of your life.

You are yelling at God,

“WHY Lord, I do not understand why I am going through this trouble. I do not know why my life has TO become like this. Lord, I JUST cannot take this any longer.”

You feel God is far away and are ready to give up your faith.

In the natural David and Habakkuk were losing faith but if you really read their books further, they waited by faith and God lifted them.

When you come to the end of Psalm 28 David said:

Psalm 28:6-7 6Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. 7The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 17Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

When God’s fulfillment of your promises is taking unbelievably too long, pray, don’t ever give up, never lose hope, neither your faith. God is right with you.

God smiles at you seeing your faith, but devil smiles at you seeing your fear.

Do you know God created you in your mother’s womb with his very own hands?

There is absolutely nothing about you that is an accident.

There is absolutely nothing about you that God is not proud of.

There is absolutely nothing about you God does not think is misplaced in life.

Just because you are going through a trouble, just because you are not hearing from God in what you believe is the “appropriate amount of YOUR time,” just because things are not working out does not mean there is something wrong.

God is absolutely at work in your life. He loves you. You are precious to him.

In the Bible we find many examples of God’s silence and whenever man felt God was quiet there were lessons to be learnt.

Lessons we might learn from God’s silence – if we want to and are patient enough.

a. God is always at work. God always works in the background.

The Israelites were in bondage in Egypt.

They cried, they prayed to God, but God was silent for a long time.

They lived in Egypt for 430 years but the time between Joseph’s death and Exodus out of Egypt was the darkest period, almost 150 years.

God was silent, they could not see God doing anything but in the background.

God was actually preparing a deliverer for them in Moses.

God was always working in the background.

Today, maybe you are not able to see anything you want to see or believe you are entitled, but God is absolutely working in your behalf unbeknownst to you.

Colossians 3:1-4 The Message

He Is Your Life

3 ^1-2 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

^3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

If you can set your mind on the things of God, open your spiritual eyes, Christ will “show up” and you will see God absolutely moving things in your favour.

“Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.”

In the book of 2 Kings 6, the prophet Elisha and his servant were surrounded by King Aram’s army for doing the work of God. When the servant of Elisha got up and went out early in the morning an army had surrounded the city.

The servant was terrified and thought they were surely doomed. 

2 Kings 6:15-17 The servant asked, “Oh, my Lord, what shall we do?” “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

When you go through those dark periods, you need to ask God to open your spiritual eyes; you will be able to see God’s work in the background.

You are absolutely never alone.

God and his mighty army are with you.

The “horses and chariots of fire” have your negativity absolutely surrounded.

They are waiting for you to pray to God, so God can then command the horses and chariots of fire to strike blind all your prevailing thoughts of negativity.

God is always and absolutely at work in your life. He will never abandon you.

God’s Silence reveals God’s glory.

We know the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus had been with them many times.

He spent considerable time with them, he ate with them but when they needed Jesus the most, they felt he was away. 

John 11:5-6 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Lazarus was sick, he died, they buried him, dark days came across their family.

Jesus was nowhere around but he knew what was happening back home because he is God. Meditate on those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany!

We know the story, Jesus came after 4 days, he wept with the sisters, walked to the grave and brought back Lazarus to life.

The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ was revealed after the silent hour. Silence reveals God’s glory.

It did not happen as they expected.

The miracle did not happen when they wanted it, but it surely did happen.

God does not abandon anyone who puts their trusts in him.

Our breakthrough may not happen on our timetable, but God is a faithful God. It will happen; he will not let you down.

That is exactly what God said in Hebrews 13:5-6 Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So, we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what can mere mortals do to me?”

You need spend some quality time with God to let that sink down on the inside.

Within the immeasurable depths of the silence, you are receiving God is saying,

“I will not fail you. Everything is going to work out. I am in complete control. I know what the medical report says. I know your financial situation. I see the people that are against you. I know how big your dreams are but hear me clearly. I will not fail you. I will not let you down. I will not let that problem overtake you. I will cause you to be the over comer.”

If you keep your trust in God in days of your silence, he will always make a way even though there is no way.

I can see some of your wilderness blooming in my spiritual eyes by faith – so I write this devotion in the sure and certain expectation of the Holy Spirit of God already being in the depths of your desires, dreams for more noise from God.

Romans 8:26-28 Authorized (King James) Version

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Silence follows human rebellion

Sometimes God chooses to be silent to reveal us our sins. Saul was selected the first king of Israel. He was good initially, but he sinned in the battle against the Amalekites. Instead of destroying the enemy he took their best cattle.

God confronted him through Prophet Samuel. Saul instead of repenting of his sins lied to the prophet and God rejected him as king. Later when the Philistines came to battle Israel, Saul started praying to God. 

1 Samuel 28:6 He enquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

Saul was so desperate to hear from God that he consulted a spirit medium which eventually lead to Saul’s and his children’s death.

Sometimes sin and rebellion is followed by silence from God.

Maybe God is silent to make us aware of our unconfessed sins.

For some of us it is time to introspect and give careful thought to our ways.

For some it may be a time of deep introspection – to enter into God’s silence.

Approaching the Throne of Grace……

Approaching the Throne of Grace – How to respond when God is silent?

That is a devotion for tomorrow ….

I pray you will join with the Word of God for His Children then.

In the meantime, …. SHALOM! SHALOM! SHALOM!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

Savior Jesus, Giver of peace, I so easily get distracted when I’m trying to focus and hear your Holy Spirit. Help me quiet my mind in the middle of my busy life. Help me to pause and to make space to listen to the most important voice of all. Empower me to be a good listener to the gentle whispers of your Spirit. Help me follow the example of Jesus, who would slip away in the evening or the early morning to be alone with you. Teach me to abide in you. Gloria! Alleluia! Amen.

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