For all of those who feel like God is silent…This one is for you.
Have you ever just really missed someone? If so, then you know the feeling that I'm about to describe...
The gut-wrenching feeling, the hole in the heart. When you think of a fond memory with the one that you miss and your breath is immediately taken from you. When someone mentions their name and your heart starts fluttering. It's a feeling that is almost hard to describe unless you've truly experienced it.
But it's a real feeling Oh, it's unbelievably real. Sometimes, I question whether or not the everyday feelings that I experience are true. But missing someone? Oh that's a very real and raw reminder that my feelings are real and I am very much alive.
Another thing that I've noticed about missing someone is that certain songs remind you of them. In fact, there are days where every single song that I listen to remind me of the one that I miss. Music seems to bring you back to certain places, certain moments, and certain memories. When I hear a song that reminds me of the one that I miss…it's as if time. stands. still.
What about smells? Does a certain smell ever remind you of someone that you miss?
Or seasons? Does a certain time of the year seem to bring you back to the time when you were living life with the one that you now miss?
Or places? Does going to that one place bring back memories? Or maybe it's multiple places, multiple streets, multiple states.
Oh yes, I think we all can relate to the feeling of missing someone.
Earlier this week, I realized that I really miss someone. I mean, everyday the unfortunate side-effects of missing someone have been haunting me like a ghost in an old house. Songs keep showing up on the radio and on shuffle. I can't escape the feelings that consume me. Every smell, place, thought, and conversation seem to remind me how much I miss Him.
Him. My Lord. My Savior. My Best Friend. My Everything.
Oh, I miss Him.
This is normally when people throw me the quote, "If you feel distant from God, remember it's you that has moved, not Him."
And while I applaud their efforts to comfort me with a quote that has been around for over a century, I usually just smile and nod. Knowing that while these people mean well, they don't truly understand my heart.
I miss Him. He has felt so silent.
And I don't think it's a bad thing.
Could it be that the Lord has things to teach me while I miss Him?
Could it be that the Lord has a bigger plan in the midst of His silence?
Oswald Chambers said, "When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible---with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation."
This season of distance and silence hasn't made me angry at God. It hasn't pushed me away from Him. It has caused me to seek out God in new ways. I'm no longer in college with worship services and Bible studies every other night. I no longer live in community with friends. I've had to learn that just because God isn't revealing Himself to me in the ways that He used to, it doesn't mean that He isn't still trying to reveal Himself to me and speak to me.
The truth is that I don't deserve any communion with Him at all, but He chooses to grace me with it. He chooses to lavish me with His silence. And He chooses to lavish me with His love.
Every word from the Lord. Grace.
Every moment of intimacy with the Lord. Grace.
Every surprise from the Lord. Grace.
Every lesson from the Lord. Grace.
Every season with the Lord. Grace.
Our walk with the Lord is a journey. With ups and downs. Twists and turns. Surprises around every corner. My walk with the Lord has been one that has had many seasons:
Whether it was the season when I felt as if God was sitting right next to me, like I did at Springhill.
Whether it was the season when I felt that the Lord has chosen to abandon me, like I did my Freshman year of college.
Whether it was the season when I feel that the Lord has been silent, like I do right now.
Each of these seasons have taught me something about the character of God. Every step of the way has only brought me into closer intimacy with Him.
I trust Him in the silence because He has never failed me.
Sometimes, we are so busy looking for God in the obvious moments like worship services, bible studies, camps, and mission trips that we miss Him altogether.
"The Lord said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came the fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper" (1 Kings 19:11-12)…and the Lord was in the whisper.
So, maybe you feel distant from God. Or maybe you feel that He has been silent for too long.
Don't give up. Don't stop seeking Him. He is still with you. He is still lavishing you with grace. This is a season and there will come another time when the Lord will feel close again, but don't abandon Him during the silence. In fact, some of life's greatest and most pivotal moments happen in silence.
When a mother and father hold their newborn for the first time and don't have the words to say.
When two lovers embrace each other for the first time and silence seems to fill the room.
When a family welcomes home a prodigal child and words don't seem adequate.
When forever friends sit in a room together and don't even have to say anything to feel loved.
Maybe, just maybe, silence can be a sign of intimacy.
Sit with Him in the silence so you don't miss His voice when He chooses to whisper to you, once again, ..."I love you."
In His quiet love,
H.G
The gut-wrenching feeling, the hole in the heart. When you think of a fond memory with the one that you miss and your breath is immediately taken from you. When someone mentions their name and your heart starts fluttering. It's a feeling that is almost hard to describe unless you've truly experienced it.
But it's a real feeling Oh, it's unbelievably real. Sometimes, I question whether or not the everyday feelings that I experience are true. But missing someone? Oh that's a very real and raw reminder that my feelings are real and I am very much alive.
Another thing that I've noticed about missing someone is that certain songs remind you of them. In fact, there are days where every single song that I listen to remind me of the one that I miss. Music seems to bring you back to certain places, certain moments, and certain memories. When I hear a song that reminds me of the one that I miss…it's as if time. stands. still.
What about smells? Does a certain smell ever remind you of someone that you miss?
Or seasons? Does a certain time of the year seem to bring you back to the time when you were living life with the one that you now miss?
Or places? Does going to that one place bring back memories? Or maybe it's multiple places, multiple streets, multiple states.
Oh yes, I think we all can relate to the feeling of missing someone.
Earlier this week, I realized that I really miss someone. I mean, everyday the unfortunate side-effects of missing someone have been haunting me like a ghost in an old house. Songs keep showing up on the radio and on shuffle. I can't escape the feelings that consume me. Every smell, place, thought, and conversation seem to remind me how much I miss Him.
Him. My Lord. My Savior. My Best Friend. My Everything.
Oh, I miss Him.
This is normally when people throw me the quote, "If you feel distant from God, remember it's you that has moved, not Him."
And while I applaud their efforts to comfort me with a quote that has been around for over a century, I usually just smile and nod. Knowing that while these people mean well, they don't truly understand my heart.
I miss Him. He has felt so silent.
And I don't think it's a bad thing.
Could it be that the Lord has things to teach me while I miss Him?
Could it be that the Lord has a bigger plan in the midst of His silence?
Oswald Chambers said, "When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible---with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation."
This season of distance and silence hasn't made me angry at God. It hasn't pushed me away from Him. It has caused me to seek out God in new ways. I'm no longer in college with worship services and Bible studies every other night. I no longer live in community with friends. I've had to learn that just because God isn't revealing Himself to me in the ways that He used to, it doesn't mean that He isn't still trying to reveal Himself to me and speak to me.
The truth is that I don't deserve any communion with Him at all, but He chooses to grace me with it. He chooses to lavish me with His silence. And He chooses to lavish me with His love.
Every word from the Lord. Grace.
Every moment of intimacy with the Lord. Grace.
Every surprise from the Lord. Grace.
Every lesson from the Lord. Grace.
Every season with the Lord. Grace.
Whether it was the season when I felt as if God was sitting right next to me, like I did at Springhill.
Whether it was the season when I felt that the Lord has chosen to abandon me, like I did my Freshman year of college.
Whether it was the season when I feel that the Lord has been silent, like I do right now.
Each of these seasons have taught me something about the character of God. Every step of the way has only brought me into closer intimacy with Him.
I trust Him in the silence because He has never failed me.
Sometimes, we are so busy looking for God in the obvious moments like worship services, bible studies, camps, and mission trips that we miss Him altogether.
"The Lord said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came the fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper" (1 Kings 19:11-12)…and the Lord was in the whisper.
So, maybe you feel distant from God. Or maybe you feel that He has been silent for too long.
Don't give up. Don't stop seeking Him. He is still with you. He is still lavishing you with grace. This is a season and there will come another time when the Lord will feel close again, but don't abandon Him during the silence. In fact, some of life's greatest and most pivotal moments happen in silence.
When a mother and father hold their newborn for the first time and don't have the words to say.
When two lovers embrace each other for the first time and silence seems to fill the room.
When a family welcomes home a prodigal child and words don't seem adequate.
When forever friends sit in a room together and don't even have to say anything to feel loved.
Maybe, just maybe, silence can be a sign of intimacy.
Sit with Him in the silence so you don't miss His voice when He chooses to whisper to you, once again, ..."I love you."
In His quiet love,
H.G
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