God being quiet: a response
A few days back I got a couple thought provoking questions in response to my post on God being quiet.
- How can we not hear from him, we have his written Word.
- Do you think that God sometimes keeps silent because he wants you to make the decision and trust him for the outcome.
So, for #1..
Yes, we have God’s word, the Bible. And in theory, the Bible is a speaking everyday, we just need to read it. In my life, however, there are periods of time that I have experienced less through reading than I have at other times. It is in those times that we feel our prayers aren’t even being listened to and that we being to doubt things that may have been second nature only days before. Philip Yancey writes ” Any relationship involves times of closeness and times of distance, and in a relationship with God, no matter how intimate, the pendulum will swing from one side to the other.” And in that time of quiet and apparent distance to God, we have room, increased room, for growth. God uses these quiet hours to mature and perfect us in many ways. I love how A.W. Tozer calls this the “ministry of the night” denoting that in that dark time, there is yet a work being done.
And for #2…
Absolutely. This is of course my opinion, but my understanding of God’s character (how minimal that understanding may be) does lead me to expect he very well might seem to be “quiet” in a time that he wants us to trust him. For me, there was a period of time that Misty and I did not fully trust God with her life…in those times, he was so quiet. It was painful to begin to doubt everything you once believed. But it was coming out of that time and begining to finally trust him that we experienced growth beyond what we’d have imagined. It took Misty to a place where she could look death in the face and smirk while just sking her head agreeing that God is in control.
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You know I agree with you. The quiet time that God gives me is the time that I have to trust him and just believe in him and do what I think is the right decision.
Hope you and Olivia are well, safe, and staying warm. Love and miss you both. Give Livi my love.
Love, Aunt Amy~
Darren, I love your thoughts, your wisdom. They are always thought provoking and reminders. I am so glad the others who view your blog post these questions, because I am not sure they are questions I would even think to ask, but yet when I see them I notice that they are questions I would like to discuss. Looking forward to having some thought provoking conversations with you in the future, I’m sure Tim would look forward to them as well! Talk to you soon!
Love Philip Yancey…
Love that Misty could look death in the face and smirk…
God’s grace is amazing!
Great thoughts, Darren.
I think that sometimes when we ask God for answers over and over and it seems like He doesn’t answer, we need to stop and ask, “Lord, if you don’t want to answer that question, then what do You want to talk to me about?” I’ve noticed that He is never silent when I ask this, and that the answers I get are rarely about what’s on my mind. The things He wants to talk about vary, but always, He wants to shift my perspective and teach me more about Himself. I think that sometimes God’s silence is simply Him waiting for us to put aside our own “insistence” about what we want to hear and focus on, and submit ourselves to His desires, plans, and timing. I think that’s where the trust issue comes into play for me: I have to trust that it’s ok for me to let go. That even if I don’t have all the answers, God is neither slumbering nor sleeping in the face of the mountain that’s looming in front of me, and that His ability to control is better than my ability to control. I guess in the end it just boils down to faith.
Thanks for sharing with us. It’s such a blessing!