buildingbodies4christ

In the Silence

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Have you ever felt the silence from God? That’s where I have been the last of couple years. I moved home again and went to work full time. In that busyness, I haven’t had time to write other than the monthly newsletter. And it is with a struggle to sit down long enough to put down some words I believe God wants me to share. But this blog space has been a different matter. Also, in the busyness of life, I haven’t heard much from God. My time with Him has fallen to the fringes. This might be a confession.

A few years ago, I sat down with a friend who is a published author. She told me as a writer, you have to write every day. I didn’t understand it at the time since I really didn’t consider myself a “writer.” But I get it now… even though I still don’t consider myself a writer – even though I write newsletters and times past, blogs. I think of writers as ones who get paid to write. I quit writing for the blog because of my lack of time, but also because I didn’t think I had enough input from God to share responsibly. I quit writing often enough to stay in God’s flow. Not only did I quit writing for the blog, I didn’t even write in a journal, which I had done for many years before blogging.

Recently, I went through the Experiencing God study. If you haven’t ever done that study, I would highly recommend it. This was the third time I have gone through it. The first time I studied it, it was a life-changing experience. It opened my eyes to God being real and personal. I mean, the God of the universe – who created all things – wants a personal relationship with me and you. It blew me away.

The second time I went through the study, God was preparing me to leave my full-time job. I went through the study six months before I quit. I don’t think I would have had the guts to do so if I hadn’t recognized God working through that situation at work. It’s quite a daunting thought to give up income when you have no idea what the future holds. But since that time, God has really been teaching me how to trust Him.

So now, I just finished round three. What could God possibly teach me in this experience that I should have learned in the other two times? Apparently, I still have much to learn. But it was really a refresher course as well. I remembered a few things as I came to the daily lesson. God has so much to show us, but we have to be ready for it. Sometimes, He has to build us into the one who will be useful for His purpose. Sometimes, He has to slow us down so that we will listen. Sometimes, we just need to hear it again before it truly sinks into our hearts.

One impression I came away with this time is prayer. We need to be a praying people. His people need to hear His voice again. I don’t think I am the only one who has a hearing problem these days. I don’t know if all churches have a problem with gathering people to pray, but I have noticed prayer meetings are a think of the past. Especially the season we are in, we need to be concerned with the life and ministry of the Church Body. And it takes intentional prayer. We have to be able to pray and watch what God does next in response to our prayers. He wants us involved in what He is doing.

We need to be listening to His voice to know how to walk with all the landmines that are being set for His people. We can’t do this life without His input. We don’t know the future. Only God does. And we don’t know His plans for the future. We have to know His plan, doing it His way and let Him receive the glory. He still wants to do amazing things through us so that He is glorified. We are the Body of Christ. Christ is the Head of the Body. God’s word says that we cannot do anything for His Kingdom without Him.  As recorded in John 15:5, Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.”

Henry Blackaby, the author of Experiencing God, had so many stories of how the church he shepherded followed God and experienced His presence in their endeavors to bring glory to God. Their endeavors were done through God’s inspiration. They didn’t devise a plan. God did and the people joined God in His work. It’s the adventure of actually experiencing God all the time. All in God’s timing and in God’s way. I want to participate in God’s plan, don’t you? It’s hard to do so if we can’t hear from Him and His Spirit leading us in those plans.

Another thing I was reminded of was the fact: until we hear from God, we need to keep doing what He last told us to do. Hence, why I need to start writing again. I’m not sure He actually led me to writing the blog or I just thought it would be a good idea. But I need to get back into His flow and this is the only way I know to do it. I’m not sure how often I will post, but I hope to be better about posting. Hopefully, the Spirit will help me out with this writing thing; and it will be useful to you and help you on your faith-filled, spiritual journey.

Lastly, I was reminded that God pursues a love relationship with us. It’s the most important of all our relationships. When our relationship with God is working, all the other relationships in our lives work too. God reveals His plan to those who have a real and personal relationship with Him. His desire is for us to walk with Him each and every day. We are to depend on Him and not of ourselves. It’s the intimacy that we should be seeking every day – in prayer and reading our Bibles. It’s a relationship.

We don’t forsake our relationships with our loved ones. Why would we forsake the relationship with the One who created us and loves us so much that He sent His Son to us so that we could know Him more fully? Jesus said if we’ve seen Him then we have seen the Father. He and the Father are One. I want this relationship to work, don’t you? I want an intimate relationship and that means getting to know Him as He wants to be known. Will you join me in this effort? Let us commit to doing better in this season we’re in and trust Him completely.