The Silence of God

The bible says when we pray, we should believe we have what we ask for and it shall be so. Sincerely, there are times that we don't even feel heard; again feelings like I always say can never be trusted, be that as it may, we are often torn between faith and doubt because of the seeming silence of God. Many times the silence of God can be deafening as it comes with the frustration that cannot be put to words. Its the kind of silence that the children of Israel witnessed while in Egypt for over 400 years, whereby they completely lost hope to the point that even Moses when sent, had to ask God," who do I say sent me". That simply meant that there was no knowledge of an active God in their daily life, the oppression was enormous and the pain was great. This is a very common place in life, when it looks like God is on leave in matters that concerns you, we sometimes think God is deaf or dead. It happened to job and many other people in the bible, even Abraham had his fair share of the silence of God. In the new testament, we had john announcing the coming of Jesus, it was strange cos for many centuries, there was no prophet hence no God in the affairs of the children of Israel, same goes for the case of Lazarus; it often feels like God does not exist, we feel so alone, we want to keep believing yet all the odds seem to point at the folly of holding on, we feel stupid and mocked by the seeming absence of an active God; this is the concept God is revealing to me lately. Its the silence of God. If you remember; I said the silence of God can be deafening. Its an irony, the truth is God is never on leave or asleep, in fact the farther it seems he is, the more involved he is. The purpose of the silence of God has never really being clear to me as one would wonder why a caring God would leave his children to wallow in abject confusion while he stands at the background in eternity looking into time yet doing nothing. It depicts God as a wicked God; till you see the outcome of all the situations that he seem silent about, I have never seen any case that we often feel frustrated about that went out of hand when it was time for God to show up. In fact looking back at Lazarus, Jesus was told Laz was sick but he went about doing other thing, when he eventually came, Laz had been dead for a few days, Mary said if you were here, Laz would not have died. Let's look at another example, when Israel left Egypt and were faced with the sea and backed by Pharaohs troop, Moses cried out, at one point Israel panicked and complain that Moses had brought them here to kill, Moses cried to God and God said this is not time to pray, stretch out the rod. Now here's what God is saying to us, "I don't PANIC". God is God alone, from before time began, he is God, unchangeable, unstoppable and unshakeable;nothing eludes him. When we approach God with a panicky spirit, we make it look like if God doesn't act now, the situation would go out of hand but we forget that nothing can go out of hand when God is in charge, so God is in the business of letting us get to the end of our line, He loves to demystify our fears by waiting in the background. The silence of God does not imply the incapacity or inactivity of God. The bible says for we know that all things work together for good for them that love God and are called according to his precious promises. As a child of God, you need to see Gods lordship as transcending all time, he lives in eternity and controls time, there is nothing that's impossible to God, he can undo the age and start all over again, God is not oblivious of the urgency of your request, he just understands the best outcome and time to act so he waits in the shadows of other events in your lives; to act at the best time. That's why in all of history, no one can point at God and say he failed me, no one alive or dead can say God can fail because that would mean he is no longer God. The silence of God is an orchestrated event to enable him showcase the excellency of his power. Read the account of the blind man when Jesus disciples asked him, who sinned that this man was born blind? Jesus answered and said; no one sinned but that the power of God might be made manifest. In many cases, we forget we exist to showcase Gods glory and how else can his glory be revealed except when seemingly failed situation arise; so my dear friends, your case is an occasion for God to be glorified. The silence of God is a divine orchestration by God to bring you to his expected end. His hands are not too short or weak that he cannot deliver you, neither is he deaf that he cannot hear you. If you are not in sin and you have done all there is to do on your part yet there seem to be no answer to your request, kindly start praising God cos your answer is right at the door. Don't give up, just wait a little longer, it would look like the situation is about to kill you but trust me guys, nothing can touch your life when God is on duty, if you don't believe me, ask job. You are Gods workmanship, he sits as a refiner of silver above you. The bible says, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil,for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me... Guys, be glad. Let your friends and family mock you for trusting God; stand. Let the earth beneath you be shaken, stand; for God is able to exceed your imagination. The silence of God is an occasion for us to praise him; its a divine orchestration to showcase the hand of God in your life. God bless you. Igonoh Godwin 04/08/2012