Have you ever been in a car where the radio was
off and the windows were up and the only sound that you heard was the muffled
noise from outside? Being alone with God is not what many are use to, but it's
a time to draw closer to Him, a time to seek Him with your whole heart.
But when God is silent and your prayers seem to be going no higher than
the ceiling what is going on? If you have ever felt that God has abandoned you
or that He is just not listening then Psalm 22 is for you. When
troubles are surrounding us, when everything we attempt to do fails, or goes
south; what is one to do?
It opens with the
words that Christ uttered when He was on the cross “my God, my God, why has
thou forsaken me?...” (Mt. 27:46).
Psalms 22:1 continues with “…why art thou so far from helping me and
from the words of my roaring (cries)?”
There are seasons in which God seems so very far away for us; it seems
that He has taken a vacation from hearing our cries. You ask, but when He is silent then how
should we respond? Looking at King
David, a man after God own heart we can see and learn what to do and not to do.
Starting in verses
1-3 David is curious as to why God has stopped help him as He did in the past.
When troubles seem to
be lingering longer, when worries are plaguing your mind more than usual and
when fear grips at your heart like a vice, there comes a wakening moment where
we come to the realization that we are in a season and God has chosen to be
silent. Silence can be deafening to some
and a prison for others, our
reaction and attitude at this point should be one of humility. God graciously allows us to ask “why” when
trouble arises
I have found that when
God is silent then it’s not the time to figure things out in your own way, nor
is it the right moment to make a decision and turn to someone else for a
solution. Silence is God’s way of increasing our faith and forcing us to
seek Him with the whole heart. Ask yourself "How serious am I in
seeking God? Many of you will likely say “very serious” for soon frustration
and discouragement will set in and then depression and anger will not be far
behind, but just as David expressed “but thou are holy…” he remembered that God was a Holy God this is the right kind
of attitude that we must have towards God. Even when our prayers are not
heard we must take the attitude of humility.
“But thou art holy. Does it seem strange that the heart in
its darkness and sorrow should find comfort in this attribute of God? No, for
God's holiness is but another aspect of his faithfulness and mercy. And in that
remarkable name, "the Holy One of Israel", we are taught that
he who is the "holy" God is also the God who has made a
covenant with his chosen. It would be impossible for an Israelite to think of
God's holiness without thinking also of that covenant relationship. "Be ye
holy; for I, the Lord your God am holy, "were the words in which Israel
was reminded of their relation to God.”
[See especially Leviticus
19:1. We see something of this feeling in such passages as Psalms
89:16-19 99:5-9
Hosea
11:8-9; Isaiah
41:14 47:4]
J. J. Stewart Perowne.
The
Treasury of David.
When prayers go unanswered and doubt
rises to new heights there are at least two possible reasons:
1.
Sin – “If
I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalms
66:18)
“For thou art not a God that hath
pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.” (Psalms 5:4)
2. Unbelief – “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for
verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall
say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and
nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew
17:20)
“And the LORD spake
unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of
the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the
land which I have given them.” (Numbers
20:12)
All sin separates us because it
births unbelief. We fear that God is not
able to do what He says in His Word for us, this can damage our relationship we
have with Him. Unbelief comes only when
desperation sets in, you see we get angry with God we start to blame Him for
what is happening in our lives and pointing our finger (so say) at Him saying
“why did you let this happen, why do I have to go through this and so on. We
must remember like David “but thou are
holy…”
Instead of pointing
the finger at God, and questing why this or that, maybe we should be asking:
·
Are You trying to get
my attention to tell me something
Tell Him that He has
your complete attention and listen to what He will tell you, either from His
Word, preaching, praise music, a friend or even a T.V. evangelist can preach a
message that touches right where you and God have had some conversations –
believe me I can testify to this. God
uses what He wants and who He wants to get our attention
·
Do I have any
unconfessed sin?
(Psalms
139:23-24) “Search
me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there
be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
This should be our
prayer each night because we do not want to be separated from God. When God reveals something to you don’t try
to justify it or don’t try to put the blame on others, accept that this action
(s) has caused a rift between you and God and pray for forgiveness
·
What do You want me
to learn?
In the silence we
seek God with our whole heart and that means reading His Word, and studying His
Word like never before. If it means
reading every scripture that pertains to fear, faith, health, finances,
deliverance then do it. God wants to
teach us something, are you willing to learn?
·
How are You God,
preparing me for Your purposes?
(Deuteronomy
7:6) “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy
God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself,
above all people that are upon
the face of the earth.”
(2 Timothy 2:19-21) “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having
this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are
not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some
to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore
purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and
meet for the master's use, and
prepared unto every good work.” Look at what God tells us here;
1. God is a sure foundation
2. He knows them that are his
3. Those who claim
Christ must depart from iniquity
4. We are a holy
people
5. We are chosen to be a special people
6. We are vessels of honor
The Word is a sure
foundation and it’s something that we can hold onto when He is silent and when
the demons of depression, anger, frustration come on us; we have the Word of
truth right in our hands. Now we are truly blessed and highly favored when you
consider that you are made in the image and likeness of God, and therefore “God knows the plans he has for us”. Even
in His silence we need to remember that He is still in control and working
things out for or our good.
There is a purpose in
the silence as there is a purpose being birthed within us. When we come to the point of acceptance of
the purpose of God it is not something that one should take lightly; it is here
where obedience, trust and faith are join hand in hand to help lead, guide and
teach you to do the will of God. But trusting in God completely is where it
begins, for all His plans will succeed when we trust and understand our purpose
is key to the journey and call we will take.
Study these scriptures and
meditated on the goodness of God even in His silence. For our hope is in
Him alone, remember God's faithfulness thus far in your life, remember how He
delivered you from the enemies hand and remember the many blessings He has
bless you with. we must "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye
stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye
know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." {1Co 15:58 KJV}
In the stillness of the
room we must be encourage to keep living close to Him until our season change.
Nina
Jenkins
Chosen4God
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