"When God is Silent"

Today has been a still day.  My mind has been clouded with thoughts of this life and the trials that come with it.  When you choose to follow Jesus Christ, life for you begins.  But when you choose to follow Him, you must prepare yourself for a relentless attack from the enemy.  People often confuse salvation with escaping the difficulties in this life.  Salvation saves you from an eternity apart from God, but it does not save you from the problems of life.  Only through times of testing, can there be growth in your spiritual walk with the Lord.  Without knowing the pains of trials, one would never experience God's power in His delieverence...and witness the Glory of God being lived out in a person's life. Without being put into the refining fire, our faith wouldn't mature...and God wants to see His reflection in us when He pulls us out of the fire.  Testing builds your character, your perserverance...it shows what you are made of...but it isn't about you at all.  God must get glory through every situation, it is all about Him.

I was witnessing to a friend once and when coming to my testimony of faith on accepting the Lord as my Savior, she interrupted and said, "and then your life got better right?"  and immediately I responded with a profound, "No",  it most definitely got harder.  Once a person decides to live for Jesus, Satan hates it...he wants to attack you, rob you, discourage your walk, weaken your faith, break up relationships, tear families apart, attack your health, attack your mind...work through people who aren't right with the Lord, who aren't even aware that they have just been used to get to you.  That's why Jesus said to put on the whole armour of God.  We must go to battle each day.  And we must realize that we are in battle with darkness and principalities that hate us....why do they hate us?  Because we are made in the image of God, because we now bear His name, because of Jesus who saved us.

When God seems to be silent through the valley of tears that we walk through...He is only trusting you with a deeper intimacy with Him.  He knows what lies ahead on your walk.  Your loyalty to follow Him must never be divided, because He knows the way through the valley.  Trust is what He wants.  If we keep laying our burdens down at His feet, and immediately get up and pick it up again, we never trusted Him with it in the first place.  We must leave it there, and never pick it up again.  Jesus said, "Do not worry".  When Jesus speaks we must understand, if He is Lord of your life, when He speaks, it is a command.  Do not worry, simply said to all who believe. 

As many of my friends know, I battle daily with Multiple Sclerosis.  A disease that is painful and disabling.  I've been in this constant battle for 12 years now.  I should be in a wheelchair, I should be as the doctors said, "a vegetable", but I am not.  Paralyzed in the onset for 6 months, but delivered by God's grace and mercy from where they say I should be.  It is no less a struggle, a battle.  Disease robs you of life, of so many things that you love.  But I have learned through this "thorn in my side", that God wants my constant dependence on Him.  He reminds me through times of sickness to have empathy and compassion on others, where if I didn't have this, I couldn't relate to the struggle of pain and illness of others.  He has given me so many opportunities to share my testimony and give Him the glory that only He deserves for carrying me through.

When I am alone, crying in pain, no one seems to understand or is able to help.  God is silent...but He is present with me.  I consider those times precious, intimate moments with my Healer who understands, has compassion, has mercy...He fills me with His peace that this world cannot give and is ever present in the valley of tears where I find rest.

Abiding in Him is rest for the weary soul...no one can escape the difficulties of life.  But we have Jesus who cares, who says "for my yoke is easy and my burden is light", (Matthew 11:30) 

My prayer for anyone who reads this would be that you seek Him who can save you...and follow Him with your whole heart, not a divided heart.  When God is silent...understand that He never leaves you or forsakes you...He is just quiet because He already knows the outcome, and He wants your whole trust, your total surrender to Christ.  He is our Hope, our Deliverer, our Redeemer, our Healer, our King of Kings, our ever present help in time of trouble, He is our Rock, our Fortress, our Shield, our Portion, our Prince of Peace, He is the Lifter of our head...He is our Everything.  I can never describe Him enough, but I am so glad that He knows my name.

In the silence of God...find rest and peace, KNOWING that He is God..He is Sovereign and He loves you...