A Period of Silence....

Ok, so I came across a part of the book I'm reading that really struck a chord with me. I've felt for some time now that the Lord was keeping silent and not answering me about certain issues. I remember my mother and I having a conversation about this very subject. She kept saying "all these years, he hasn't changed one bit, and the Lord still used him." It was as if that situation seemed to be a period of time where that person was "getting away with sin". But as I read this passage in the book, it was so clear to me what God is doing. I will quote what I read: "Therefore, when we come to chapter 3 and we come across a sustained period of silence during which the king promotes Haman, you and I want to say, "No! Don't do it. You'll be sorry. He's a bad guy. He hates the Jews. He's going to work out a murderous plan. Don't promote him."

Have you ever had a situation where you think to yourself "how can God allow this person or situation to excel above others, be promoted or be glorified, when they are so evil and clearly
in the wrong." The book goes on to say "An evil game-plan gets underway and we want God to stop it, but there's no voice from the shore." "The fog thickens as we watch Haman lay the groundwork for exterminating all the Jews in the entire kingdom of Persia. We watch as the official seal of the king is pressed into soft clay and the edict of death goes forth across the land and throughout all the provinces. We think, Now, God! Stop this wrong! But there's no voice from the shore."

"Had we lived in that lake of silence, would we have wondered, Where is God? Surely, there would have been such questions." "Yet even in such periods of silence, God is at work. If you don't know this, and if you don't believe this, and if you don't remember this when He stays silent, you will panic, you will doubt, you will become cynical, resentful, and brimming with bitterness." "Consider the prophet Habakkuk, who watched unjust events occur back to back, one after another, and they didn't stop. Finally, he could take God's silence no longer, so he said to the Lord, "Why? And while I'm at it, how long?" What was the problem? Habakkuk was treading water on the lake! The fog had rolled in. Others can sing, 'In His time, in His time' all they wish, but right now I'm drowning." "Between Malachi and the birth of the Lord Jesus is another 400-year period you have probably never heard a sermon about. I haven't either. Absolute, stark silence. Not even the writing of a verse of Scripture for four centuries. That's tough to take."

"If you want to discover how God works, not only in Esther's day but in our day, keep these two things in mind. First: Life is filled with sustained periods of silence. Often. But those periods of God's silence are just as significant as the times when He speaks. They're far more painful, but they are nevertheless significant. And during those times on that fog-bound lake, you need ears of faith to listen for His voice. Second, The turning points of life, the significant events, are often subtle. A sensitive heart is required to detect those changes".

Its those silent times where you think nothing is taking place, that the Lord does His finest work! All though we think at the moment, that nothing is happening and that God isn't moving, we are completely wrong. God is always moving. He doesn't function off of human time. He's never late. He's always right on time. I love that. I love how God is moving in the midst of the silent times. Often we think that its a wilderness, but in fact, its the Lord moving you to sit still and wait on Him. He's working on your current situation. The answer is already done. Isn't that wonderful? Its a done deal. He's on top of every situation. "I find enormous comfort in knowing, in the analysis, God is God and He will have His way when He pleases and for His glory. What could be better than that? In all the mystery of His waiting and working and in all the wrong of our doing and undoing, He can still be trusted. The big thing is that you and I remain sensitive to those moments when He breaks the silence (which we're tempted to call absence) and suddenly intervenes on our behalf." So all though it may seem one way at the moment....always remember this.....THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY SEEM. Praise God! I'll leave you with that.