TODAY IS…

a day for thinking about the reasons for God’s silence.

“For God watches how people live; He sees everything they do.”  Job 34:21 NLT

Far too often we have a habit of exhibiting impatience with God.

We think we are doing the right thing in the right way. We worship God regularly in a spirit of joy and fellowship with other Christians. We read the Bible daily and meditate on its message. We pray for forgiveness for our transgressions and we thank God for all He does. We ask for His help and His guidance. We plead for His mercy and His blessing.

Yes, we do all the right things in the right way and… God is silent.

Sometimes we feel as if we are standing alone, left to fend for ourselves. Our weaknesses as human beings allow our minds to conjure up images of abandonment. We may allow ourselves to become jealous, thinking that He loves others more than He loves us and is giving them more of His time. We ask repeatedly for answers and are met with silence.

What are we doing wrong?

Perhaps we are not doing anything wrong at all. Quite possibly, we are doing everything right and God is pleased with us and is simply taking care of another person’s crisis or emergency.

God never abandons us, so we must get that idea out of our heads immediately. God is with us always and He is constantly watching us and listening to our prayers.

He could also be answering us and the clutter of our own insecurities is preventing us from hearing Him.

Sometimes we need to do two things that do not come very easily to some of us: We must be still, and we must be patient. In today’s world, things happen faster and faster than ever before. We want what we want and we want it now.

But we can all take this advice from David, who wrote, “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1 NIV).

And we must always remind ourselves of the words from Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know I am God.”

God sees us and God hears us. If we wait quietly and patiently, we just might find that He is trying to speak to us.

And if we don’t hear Him right away?

Just wait a little longer. God is there and He will speak when He is ready. Our responsibility is to make sure we are listening. Be still, and be patient.

Sometimes the silence isn’t silence at all.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson