“GOD!  SAY SOMETHING!  Where are YOU!!!”

Silence.  Where has he gone?  Did he abandon you? us?  Was He really ever there in the first place?

“WHERE ARE YOU GOD!?!”

And our prayers bounce against the ceiling of the room.  Nothing.  Nothing comes.  No heavenly hug.  No peaceful feeling.  No spiritual tug to say “I’m here child.”  Nothing.  The lush green fields of spiritual communion are gone leaving  the dryness of memories of what once was.

“God?  Are you there?  Do you hear?  Do you care what I’m going through?”

What kind of God leaves us in the middle of our battle?  What kind of God becomes the deaf blind mute we can’t understand and who can’t seem to communicate with us?

That’s how it feels, doesn’t it?  That’s how life appears to be when God goes silent.  But, it’s not the TRUTH.  Take a moment and think about this.

Have you thought maybe this period of God’s silence is a time of cleansing?  A time of growth?  A time of blessing?

“Wait a minute!  God’s silence a time of blessing?  No Way!  I HATE IT!  I want HIM not this cold desert of nothing!”

Really?

Why do we REALLY get scared when we can’t “experience” God?  What makes us wonder if all that we’ve been through and all that He’s shown us and told us was just a figment of our active imagination?  Could there be another reason?

Let me ask you this.

Are we really wanting Him or are we wanting the “feeling” of His closeness?  Are we truly searching for Him or for a warm fuzzy hug that says, “You’re safe.  I’ve got you.  Go on, you’re okay.”

We SAY we want Him, but our actions scream more like a toddler lost in a store wondering where their mommy has gone.

Could it be that God is letting us experience His silence, so we can be purged of our need for feelings to reassure us and instead begin to truly rely on our faith.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

We can’t please Him unless we have faith, but we can’t have faith unless we experience the pool of life without our emotional floaties on.  It’s not that He’s left us, He’s just letting us swim learning to trust He’s watching and waiting to assist us should we get in trouble.

Without God’s silence how will we be able to truly please Him if we are more in love with how He makes us feel than with the giver of the feeling?

When you are in the silence of God, remember this:

All Teachers are silent when their students are taking a test.

Be patient.  Continue on the path He showed you.  Trust in Him and thank Him for loving you enough to grow your faith so that you may bring Him more pleasure and joy.  Enjoy His silence and rejoice in the growing of your faith and the pruning of your feelings.

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“Then Jesus answered, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’”   Matthew 15:28

I used to covet others’ faith. I’d watch the spiritual “giants” in my church and community and wonder why they were given a greater faith than me. It didn’t seem fair. Even worse were people with great faith who never seemed to have any type of adversity. Do you know the kind of people I’m describing?  One day, I decided to get to know a person with obvious great faith. I think it was one of the best things I’ve done to increase my own faith. The first thing I learned was people with great faith got it from their abundance of trials, not from their lack of trials. Trusting God in one trouble gave them courage to trust Him in another. Before they knew it, they had developed great faith in God. Great faith didn’t happen overnight; it was a process.  Through the course of trusting God, we discover several things about great faith.  First, it leads to great undertakings. Take the Gentile woman with a demon-possessed daughter found in Matthew 15 – pause to read her story if you can. She cried out for Jesus to heal her daughter, but she received no response.  This action on Christ’s part can seem confusing. Therefore, it is important to know that this woman was not only a Gentile, but was of Canaanite descent. The Canaanites were an immoral people God had commanded Israel to completely destroy during their invasion of Canaan under the command of Joshua. Israel did not fully obey God’s order and some Canaanites survived the invasion. This woman was their descendant. Nonetheless, this didn’t stop her from appealing to Jesus for mercy and help.  Annoyed by her attempts, the disciples urged Jesus to send her away. She was a nuisance to them, but to Jesus the woman was an example of great faith. She was determined to do whatever was necessary to get what she needed.

 Great faith also brings about great expectations. If you’re like me, you often don’t expect great results from your labors and prayers.  This is because we lack faith. This was not true of the Gentile woman. She expected the Savior to heal her daughter.  That’s not all. Great faith awakens great earnestness. This woman didn’t play by the rules so to speak. She didn’t care what others thought about her actions. Crying, she fell at the feet of Jesus and worshiped Him. I’ve seen this kind of earnestness in others with great faith as well. They pray with persistence until God moves.  Great faith conquers great difficulties. The woman kept on pursuing Jesus even though He reminded her of her position as a Gentile, not a Jew. Christ responded to her begging, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs” (vs.26).  In other words, why should He give her, a Gentile, what He had come to give the Jews?

 Her answer to that was to agree with Him, “Yes, Lord.” And then throw herself on His mercy again by adding, “…even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (vs. 27). She understood that even one morsel of God’s power was more than enough to heal her daughter. Pleased with her faith, Jesus commended her.  Finally, great faith achieves great victories. Jesus rewarded the woman’s faith by healing her daughter. Our difficulties can be overcome by expressing great faith in Christ’s mercy and love, which provide for our needs.  Great faith isn’t given to some and not to others. It is a choice we make to trust and pursue God even when at first there appears to be no response.

 Dear Lord, my circumstances call for great faith. Today, I’m ready to undertake whatever I need to do in this situation. I expect You to hear and respond to all my concerns. With earnestness, I promise to seek Your will in this area so that I may be more than a conquer. Victory is already mine because I trust in You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.              2 Timothy 2:15

One evening my family was gone and I had the house to myself. I could either watch TV or do the homework from my weekly Bible study. The lure of mindlessly watching TV was strong, but I decided to go with Bible study instead. For two hours, I dug into the scriptures. I found myself eagerly looking up words in the dictionary to clarify their meaning, following up on references to Bible verses, and reading commentary notes.  When I finally finished my lesson and closed my Bible, I felt refreshed, optimistic, and at peace. I don’t remember ever feeling refreshed or happy after a couple hours of watching TV. Was this a coincidence? The next time I had the house to myself, once again I occupied myself with Bible study instead of TV, and once again I came away feeling much better for it.

I’m not saying I never watch TV; far from it. But these days, I make the intentional choice to spend more time with God and less time with mindless entertainment.

Heavenly God, help us to take advantage of time we can spend with you so that we may renew our thinking and be transformed. Amen.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. (Hebrews 4:12)

I have always felt that when I did preach, I should generously quote Scripture, because I believe there is authority in the Bible. There isn’t authority in the words of bruce  Rice, unless Bruce is quoting the Bible. My authority comes from God’s Word. So I quote it.

People may not like what I’m saying. It may really bother them. But I have heard story after story of people who made a decision for Christ a week, even a month, after it;s conclusion.   A seed was planted. Then it germinated and eventually became fruitful… even though it was a little later than anyone thought it would. God’s Word will not return without accomplishing its purpose, so don’t be afraid to quote it.

As young Stephen was about to lose his life, the devil could have whispered in his ear, “Look at you. You gave up your life up for nothing.” But a little seed had been planted. And unknown to Saul of Tarsus, it was about to bear fruit.  Here were two young men, both standing up for their convictions. One was very religious. One was genuinely spiritual. Stephen was humble, saved by the grace of God. Saul was self-righteous, proud of his works and deeds. Stephen was defending the gospel, while Saul was persecuting it. But Saul ultimately carried out Stephen’s task. He ended up taking his place and carrying the torch that Stephen once did.

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.  James 3:2

As children, many of us said: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But as we mature, we realize that words can often hurt us even more.  Our words are powerful indicators of our spiritual maturity. And according to the Scripture above, if we could control the tongue, we would be well on our way to accomplishing the mandates that God has laid out for us.  Each day, as you encounter people, focus on using only words that point to God. God wants you to keep your mind, emotions and words—your whole body—in check. Because as you do, you will find that you stumble less and less as you mature more and more in your spiritual walk with Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord, I know that the words I say are part of living out my faith in you. So as I go through each day, help me to speak only those words that honor and glorify you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. Nehemiah 4:9

Nehemiah and his people were undertaking a huge challenge: to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that had long been neglected and in disrepair. God’s people began to work diligently, as the Bible says, “with all their heart.” The work angered their enemies, so much so that they plotted to fight the Jews. God’s people could have responded with fear or despair. Instead, they did two things: they prayed and they posted a guard. They did not just pray; they did not just take action. But they combined the two measures, and that captured my attention as I read.

At times I have been discouraged because I felt that God had not answered my prayers. Maybe, though, the problem is that I have not done my part. It’s fine to pray about losing weight or getting a job or growing closer to God. However, if we don’t exercise or send out resumes or spend time with God, is it reasonable to expect the results we are seeking?

What desire or situation pulls at your heart today? Besides praying, what action does God want you to take in this matter? As Nehemiah 4 tells us, God’s people discovered that prayer plus action yields results.

Lord, thank you for answering our prayers. Please show us what steps we can take to deal with issues in our lives. Amen.

The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”  Matthew 25:16, 19, 21

All of us have been blessed by God with certain resources, gifts and talents. Some of us have huge piles of those blessings; others have small piles. But no matter how many we have, we can’t afford to let them go to waste. We are called to care for and invest the things that God has entrusted to us, so that we can have even more to give back.  It’s selfish to take the blessings of God and simply sit on them. We are asked to use the blessings of God to glorify him and to bless others. As you use your gifts, abilities and financial resources within the context of the local church, the interest is compounded exponentially, making an even bigger difference for God’s kingdom in heaven. 

One day, we are all going to stand before God and be held accountable for what we have done with our time, talents and resources. And at the end of our life here on earth, our goal is to hear from our Father in heaven, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Dear God, I know that one day I will stand before you and be held accountable for what I have done with everything you have given me. Please help me to leverage my life, and all that you have given me, in such a way that I can be that “faithful servant” and share in your happiness. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.  Proverbs 1:5

Have you ever been part of a one-sided conversation? The other person talks and talks, slowing down only long enough to catch their breath before rambling on some more. Through all the words, what that person is really saying is that they don’t know how to listen.  Being a good listener starts with closing our mouths and opening our ears. And that’s also how we should approach our communication with God. God has a myriad of ways in which he can communicate with us, so we should listen first to what he has to say.  Whether it’s through his Word, the Bible, or through the counsel of a wise Christian friend, you can hear God—if you’ll just take the time to listen. And when you hear what he has to say, you’ll discover the very words that can change your life.

Dear Lord, I know that each day you have something significant you want to communicate to me. Yet so often, I’m more concerned with telling you what I want that I miss your message. Help me when I come to you to close my mouth and listen first so I can hear the words that you have for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  Micah 6:8

THIS is my 52nd year, and I spend a great deal of time reminiscing about the different stages of my life. I especially like to think about my happy childhood. I had loving parents who tried to teach Christian values and habits both by word and example. These values influenced my life through my teenage years and adulthood, and now they influence me in this stage of my life.

As I looked through a scrapbook of materials I’ve collected over the years, the following question gave me food for thought: When I die, will the world be a better place because I have lived or because I have died?  If I am to evaluate my life honestly, I also must ask other questions: Have I loved my neighbor as myself? Have I treated others as I want them to treat me? Have I done what Micah says God requires of me: “To do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [my] God”?  I know I have failed many times in many ways. But how thankful I am that God is merciful and forgiving and that I can say, “Lord, I am trying.”

Thank you, compassionate God, for life. Thank you for your love and for your forgiveness when we fail to do your will. Amen.

The God of compassion said, “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms.”   Hosea 11:3

I can remember when my son was learning to walk. In front of him was a new and wonderful world, one he could not see when he was crawling. He could not see me behind him, but he held on to my fingers because he would lose his balance without me. When he became strong and balanced enough to support himself, I turned him around toward me. Once he could see me, the desire to come to me gave him the courage to take those first steps on his own into my arms. He stumbled a few times, but I was always there to catch him, strengthening his skill and faith in himself so he could someday walk on his own.

As I read Jesus’ words in Matthew 18, “Unless you change and become like children,” I realize that I’ve been crawling along through life for too long on my own. When I allow God to guide me, I see a new world, an outlook I’ve never experienced before. This new outlook builds my strength so I can look beyond the suffering and pain of the world to see the works of a wonderful Healer, Creator, and Guide. Then as I turn to God in worship, prayer, and service, I find confidence to take those first steps to God so that soon we can walk side by side.

God, help us to reach out to you, trust you as our guide, and look for your wondrous hand at work. Amen.