WHEN GOD SEEMS TO BE SILENT

 

When I grew up, I made a lot of friends some of them became brothers and sisters indeed. We spent  a lot of time together, we made a lot of memories together and actually I enjoyed and I'll forever appreciate the companionship and friendship. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth (1 corinthians 13;6).

But the book of Ecclesiastes 3;1 says, to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Life gives us all times, time to be together and time to separate. and always time to separate hit differently.

Friendship is often tested by separation and silence; you are divided by physical distance, or you are unable to talk. In our friendship with God, we won’t always feel close to Him. Philip Yancey has wisely noted,

 “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." 

That’s when worship gets difficult.

We might change but He never changes.

Ask yourself this simple question, at this moment do you feel the presence of God in your life? Or He seems far away from you?  It is easy to worship God when things are going well in our lives —when we  have food, friends, family, good health, good economy, Good academic performance and all happy situations. But when things are not in line with our expectations, how do we worship God then? What do you do when God seems miles and miles away? But The deepest level of worship is praising God inspite of pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting Him when tempted, and loving Him when He  seems to be far.

Sometimes we'll be carried through tough seasons, seasons of strong wind, flood, famine and all the world torture, in these times we definitely lose our faith in God. We feel like He has abandoned and Forgotten us, these seasons are filled with darkness hopelessness and helplessness. Think about David whom God was proud of, and He  called him a man after his own heart. He always walked with God, but David says in Psalms 88:13-14 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?" does this mean God left him? For Real, God didn’t leave David, and He has never and will never leave you. The promise is, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. And not you will always feel my presence.”

“There are moment we lose our spiritual integrity, we are totally exhausted from the world, and we don’t feel that tender love of God. we pray, but nothing happens. we rebuke the devil; but it doesn’t change anything.  We have prayers from our friends . . . we confess every sin we can imagine, we try our level best to make a peaceful  environment with everyone around us . we fast and cry to the Lord . . . still we feel no change, we go through a number of spiritual exercises with no change, we ask ourselves how long this spiritual gloom might last. Days? Weeks? Months?years? Will it ever end? . it feels as if our prayers simply bounce off the ceiling.  We cry out, ‘What’s the matter with me?’” we feel as if He is angry with us or He's disciplining us for our sin. In fact, sin disconnect us from intimate fellowship with God.

 

But often these feeling of abandonment has nothing to do with sin. It is a test of faith— we all must face: Will you continue to love, trust, obey, and worship God, even when you have no sense of his presence or visible evidence of his work in your life?

Why do we feel God is not with us?

• Maybe we're Over sensationalizing God's presence.

John 6:30 

They said therefore unto him, what sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 

This might be the reason, most people and believers need signs, some miracles from Lord so that they can feel his presence otherwise they don't.

When we pray and no answers, we feel like God is not there. The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God. We look for a feeling, and if it happens, we conclude that we  have worshiped (This is definitely Wrong! ). In fact, we need to seek God in every situation not only when we have spiritual arousal. Spiritual arousal is not a worship!

• May be we are hardening our hearts

Matthew 13:14-15

 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

• May be God want to draw us high.

Acts 17:26-27

 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: so by that way may be God look for you.

If you always felt God you wouldn't need faith, and Just because God seem distant doesn't mean He  is absent, God is Love, God is always present, even when you are unaware of Him, and His presence is too profound to be measured by mere emotion. Yes, He wants you to sense His presence, but He’s more concerned that you trust Him and not just you feel Him. Faith and not feelings, pleases God. What to do is just to be honest to God, trust him because he will fulfill all his promises to you, counting your blessings you'll see God.

 

  Be Blessed all.

  Author: Rutozi  Alex.