Silence

When I hear of someone/people who say God is being silent I always want to ask them a question. The question being, "Who has moved? You or God?" I can guarantee it isn't God who has moved. So when I encounter times of what I perceive as silence from God then I get busy and evaluate where I am spiritually. Because, usually, I find that I've sinned.

There are times when we get lazy and we want God to speak to us and just give us an assignment to do. And we keep on waiting....and I think the reason is we are not always really interested in making any major adjustments in our lives. Biblically, that's impossible. Every time God spoke to the people in Scripture about something He wanted to do through them, major adjustments were necessary. They had to adjust their lives to God. Once the adjustments were made, God accomplished His purposes through those He called.

When I look at Judges and chapter after chapter says, "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord..." I shake my head. Even though they ignored and rebelled against their covenant promise with God, He didn't leave them, He never forsake them. He might have been silent but He never left them. All they needed to do was to turn to God and repent. And each time, God delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.

God created us in such a way that He alone is purposely fitted for our deepest needs. Anything we try to put in a place where God belongs is an idol. Remember the Holy Spirit does not convict us of sin to condemn us but, rather, He convicts us of sin so we will become aware, seek forgiveness, and be set free! So when I find God being silent I begin to look deep in the dirty recesses of my heart and mind to see what might be filling me up rather than God.

Yes, God speaks through "incidents" which take place in our lives, but trust me, those are far less often than God speaking through His Word to us. That is where God will not be silent because it is His self-revelation of Him to us.

So when I don't find God's presence I need to remind myself He will not go back on His promise to not abandon me. But where sin is rampant He is certainly capable of shrinking the presence of the Holy Spirit and leaving virtually no signs of His presence.

There are many conditions which can keep us from truly enjoying God's presence in our personal lives. An example would be not spending adequate time with Him which would significantly affect our pure enjoyment of His presence. Having an underdeveloped prayer life could also be one. Let God's Word become a mirror of what you want reflected in your life. If you ask Him to make Himself so real to you through His Word, you will enjoy God even when you find yourself being confronted by His Holy Spirit! God does get very personal!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
On side note...if you think about it would you pray this morning for a meeting we are having with the care team/PT's/us/mom this morning. We will hear how far she has come and how far she has to go, we can share and ask questions of things we need more information on etc. Thanks ever so much.