The Journey: When the Road is Long 3-2-2020
By Dean Foster
March 2, 2020
The Journey: When the Road is Long
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
When God is ready, He rushes in or simply finishes what He started in you some time earlier. In God's time He reveals Himself and sets you free. If you learn what it means to be set free, you learn to walk with Him and pray. Your praying means the time will come as you walk with God when you will not see Him move and hear only the sound of silence.
Welcome to The Journey.
There is no metaphor or anecdote to compare the silence of God to. I have tried and the feeling cannot be captured that way. It hurts to even say it. What if suddenly, God wasn't there?
When it seems God is nowhere to be found what can we do? These are dangerous times if you don't have some answers and remember God’s promises. What are the promises without the one who made them? Periods of spiritual dryness are harder to take and they are something that all believers go through. Common as the dry spells may be, we need ways to get through them and God has given us just that.
Most of us have ways to celebrate the small miracles and victories of answered prayer that we see and have in our lives. It's easy to rejoice in the victories of answered prayer. What do we do during those dry and spiritually empty years when God is silent?
Don't ignore or brush off the silence. God has done amazing things in my life during what I thought to be spiritually silent years. Silent times can be powerful times for those who pay attention to God's movement. This is a good time to discover new gifts God will reveal to you that may lead to new ministries you can be an important part of. These are new adventures with God. He does things behind and before us to get us ready and prepare the way. Just wait!
To ignore the silence is to accept the silence. That is the absolute worst that could happen to a person. Getting used to the silence of God could cause one to expect nothing or very little from Him and when you do that, you will get it every time. Please, do not ignore the silence. Continue to pray!
Deal with known Sin in your life. Sin could be what is interfering with your intimacy with God right now. Not sin you have confessed and been forgiven for of course, but sin that is currently a part of your life and you have not repented of and confessed.
Get off the fence again. Make a decision, God or the world and stick to it. Remind yourself, that you believe He knows about your next heart beat before it happens. God is the creator and sustainer of the universe the way He always has been and always will be. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life. You make this choice of whether you believe in Jesus or not. Remember, He loves you the same whether you believe in Him or not.
Learn to Trust God more. When God is silent it may feel like we are questioning or pausing in our faith, but this is when God may actually be building our faith. The time comes in our spiritual life when the on fire feelings we felt when we first began our walk with God begins to cool. That doesn't mean we are ready to be set off to the side to keep the hot coals built up. It may mean God knows we are ready for something even more exciting than we have already seen. During the silence is the time to remember that God is always in control and the adventure has just begun.
Finally, when God is silent listen and watch closely. God is going to make His plans known to each of us some day. You don’t want to miss it. You may have an important role to play in His unfolding plan. The silence may end through His Word, life situations, or another person. You’ll want to be a ready and open to know God is moving. Continue to pray and know that God will break the silence someday… and when He does it will be good. Keep all this in mind as you sit in the quiet and know that He is God. God who knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11)
