Hey Friends!!I hope everyone had a great week last week. Man! It is getting hot. I hate to think how hot August is gearing up to be this year. 🥵
This week I want to talk about God’s silence. We have talked in the past about silence. Sometimes we ask God or an answer and there is silence. And we know silence IS an answer. But as humans, we can’t see the road ahead. We don’t understand the lack of communication and we can pull away from Him because we are frustrated. Today, I want to talk about how to connect with God during the silence. So let’s talk about it!
Years ago, when Jon and I were just married we financially had it rough. This isn’t uncommon but it seemed like we struggled more than our friends and family. Neither of us had a college education at that point. We had “good” jobs but they didn’t pay well. Then, BAM! I’m pregnant with Logan. Wow. Such a blessing but definitely not planned for that moment.
Long story short, when Logan was a year old, we filed bankruptcy. In order to keep the house and cars, we filed a Chapter 13 which means we paid it all back. And we did! But those times were ROUGH. I remember our meal rotation for the week included hotdogs, ramen, spaghetti, etc. Logan was on baby food and honestly ate nutritionally better than Jon and I. I remember praying and praying for God to just help us. I didn’t want to be rich. I just wanted to pay all of the bills, and eat without working 2 jobs (which we did). God was silent. When prayers go unanswered, discouragement creeps in and waiting provokes doubt and questions. Why can’t SOMETHING go our way?
Be honest how you feel
You know what I am going to say here. But yes! Pray! Tell God how you feel! Guess what? He knows how you feel anyway. So you might as well vent to Him and get it over with. But second, tell a good spiritual friend. I know some might shy away from this but everyone goes through something! Most people can at least relate to you. Trust me, calling a friend is vital when you feel the silence.
Believing God is a CHOICE not an EMOTION
Isn’t it easy to measure our spiritual condition by whether or not we feel close to God? Listen, I KNOW better but I will still fall into this trap by relying on emotions to evaluate my spiritual connection. Emotions are NOT an accurate gauge of your relationship with God.
Examine your heart without self-doubt
“God. What have I done wrong? Why are you giving me the silent treatment? Are you mad at me?” Sound familiar? What do you do? You start confessing any and all sins asking for forgiveness. Hoping and praying that the silence will be “cured”. Friends. It doesn’t work that way. Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”
Spiritual warfare! INCOMING!!!
“Well I guess I did something to make God mad. He’s not blessing me OR EVEN TALKING to me! He doesn’t love me. I’ve really messed up. Since I don’t know what I did, I’m over it.” Right there! That’s a spiritual attack. The enemy waits until you are vulnerable and he can be relentless with your thoughts and emotions. He spreads lies and misinterpretations. Be careful.
Which leads to…
Stand strong in your faith
Listen. You got this. The absolute BEST way to navigate silence is standing strong in your faith. If you need help, pick up the Bible. The word of God is a powerful weapon when there is spiritual warfare.
Trust God with your spiritual condition
So, here’s the thing. YOU, my frond, is not in control of your spiritual condition. God is. God sets the pace for our spiritual growth. Our role is to love, trust, obey and respond to God. When God feels distant, you need to trust he has not stopped working. He is more interested in that spiritual growth than you are!
God communicates various ways
Straight up friends…there are lots of times God IS communicating and we don’t hear or see it. 1 Corinthians 2:16, “God speaks in various ways including His Word, the church, circumstances, godly counsel and the mind of Christ within you.” Have you ever been in church and you feel like Pastor Scott is talking to ONLY you? Or you are on Facebook and a verse literally jumps off the page at you? You know, that was probably not a coincidence.
And lastly..
Believe God has a purpose for His silence
I am not going to begin to try to understand His silence because I’m sure it’s different with different scenarios. But the underlying theme to His silence is usually a reason to continue to seek Him. He wants your faith to grow but there are growing pains. My advice here is to embrace the silence. Sometimes when there are things going on in the background we don’t know about, there is nothing to say RIGHT NOW. Be patient.
I can’t tell you the invaluable lessons Jon and I learned during our bankruptcy days. I could go on for days about the lessons involving financial decisions, self doubt, self worth, the bond in our marriage, friends and family connections but most importantly God’s love. Listen..we made it. We paid everything back quicker than expected. We always had a roof over our heads, food on the table and an over abundance of love. These lessons have (hopefully) been passed down to Logan.
If you are going through a silent period, please don’t fret. I cannot say this enough but God loves you more than you can fathom. Silence is an answer and that’s ok. Embrace it. Seek Him. If you have a friend who is struggling, be a good friend. Don’t try to fix it! Just listen. Let them know you are there for them if they need you.
Love you all and see you next week,
Jennifer
