Thursday, January 2, 2014
God's Silence
Have you ever felt that God is 'missing in action'? That we continuously praying but we can't feel the response and only hear our breathing? Maybe you were thinking that He hated us because you weren't able to feel his presence? Well, think again. He has always purpose in everything and His view is wider than ours. This silence means something, it has its goals and we shouldn't be worried. During our problems and adversities, we sometimes feel that He is not listening and we call out 'where are you God'? Yes, He can be very silent and the Holy Spirit may leave us... but not temporarily and doesn't mean He is abandoning us.
If you will read John 11:1-6 (1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days), Martha and Mary came running towards Jesus about their brother Lazarus who was very sick at that time. Jesus listened but stayed few more days. You might be asking why He didn't come in rescue immediately. His silence has its very purpose:
1. He Wants Our Attention. We could be very busy in our career or personal life that sometimes we forget Him and when the time comes that we need Him, he 'cannot be reached'. This silence is one way of Jesus to call and grab our attention. It means that we should always put Him number one in our daily priority list. Haven't you noticed that if our parents are very silent, we became curious and would ask questions what is worrying them? It is the same thing, He wants us to run towards Him and witness His great power and in this verse, He showed us that He conquers death and that nothing is impossible to Him. Our attention also prepares us for greater things that will come into our lives.
2. He Wants Our Trust. When we pray, we sometimes want an immediate action and response. But His silence also teaches us to fully trust Him. By this trust, our faith becomes more intact and our foundation is being nourished. Trust Him in everything that we do. When Martha stated that she believed that Jesus is the Son of God indicated that full confidence and trust is very rewarding and the result was, Lazarus was raised from death.
I know it is very frightening and frustrating that sometimes we cannot feel God's presence but be confident that God is always with us and His silence won't last forever. There is always a purpose, just embrace the promises that He has for us and learn the lessons of His words.
Image taken from silverspiral.org
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