The Silence

I just love my morning quiet time with God. Many of you who know me - know that I really don't do "quiet" well - so this has always been a slight challenge for me. It may be my A.D.D. or something - but I have a real hard time being still... and... well... quiet. But my mornings with God are so RICH that I yearn for this time daily to hear from Him.

I've learned to keep a journal over the last few years so that I can write down things that God is revealing to me during my quiet times. And it's been an amazing experience.

A couple days ago God really got my attention about something I've struggled with for a long time, and that's the Silence of God. If you're a Christ follower you probably know what I'm talking about. You've been praying about something, for a long time, and it seems like He's just silent. You're not hearing the word no, and you're not hearing the word yes... in fact, you're just not hearing anything at all.

I've gone through countless times in my life when I LONGED to hear from God and He chose to remain... silent. And it wasn't pleasant.

There are times when my husband and I get into disagreements about something. And sometimes, these "disagreements" turn into heated debates. It happens to us all, right? Words are exchanged that are unloving and before you know it - a disagreement over a very silly issue has exploded into something far bigger than either of us anticipated.

My husband is the "calmer" spouse. I would say he's probably more "rational" than me and certainly goes out of his way to avoid conflict. Me, on the other hand, I am the "over-reactor", the one who's more "bull-headed" and enjoys a spicy debate every now and then. When I get upset - I"m often ready to tackle the issue at hand, whereas he tends to push it off until we've had time to cool down.

He's much wiser than me.

So it's no doubt that his avoidance of certain situations during a heated debate are... well... frustrating. Sometimes when I'm defending my side, all I really want is for him to defend his side. When I raise my voice to convince him as to why he should see it my way - often my desire is for him to raise his voice to convince me as to why I should see it his way. Debaters are funny this way. Sometimes, we just want you to RESPOND in SOME way - ANY way so that we know you've heard us.

I think sometimes God is like that. He's the calmer one. He's more rational. And sometimes... He chooses to be silent.

Isaiah 55:8 says, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways', declares the Lord."

God doesn't think like we think. His ways are not the same as our ways and certainly His timing in answering our prayers is different than our timing.

2 Corinthians 6:2 says, "'At just the right time I heard you. On the day of salvation I helped you'."

AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME. God's time.

Make no mistake about it - He hears you.

He hears your cries for a job.
He hears your prayers for a sick parent.
He hears your plea for a baby.
He hears your petitions for a spouse.

He hears you. He knows the desires of your heart. And He's going to answer your cries. But sometimes, He chooses to be silent for a little while because His ways are not our ways and His power is not limited by our time frames and deadlines.

Here are the words I wrote in my journal the other day concerning the silent seasons of my own life. I pray that you consider them as encouragement during the silent seasons of your own life.

"Dear God, thank you for the silence. It forces us to...

...come in closer to you
...bend our ear to listen better
...sit before you with our knees bent - eyes fully focused on you
...sit upon your lap and BEG for you to speak.

Amen."

Finding JOY in the JOurneY,