Silence

My Sunday School teacher taught something that increased my faith last Sunday. She explained that after the last book of the Bible in the Old Testament, Malachi, was written God was silent for the next 400 years. He was silent, but it is important to know that He was still there. In fact, it was during these 400 years of silence that the miracle of the oil occurred. You may recall that the temple had been destroyed, but the Jewish people went in to rededicate the temple and found a jar of oil. The jar of oil only contained a one day supply of oil. In order to rededicate the temple new oil was needed and that took eight days to make. (This oil was used to provide light in the temple.) Then God allowed this one day supply of oil to burn for eight days until more could be made. That was the miracle behind Hanukah. This is also how Hanukah began. However, I want to focus on God’s silence. He was silent for 400 years, but as you can see by this miracle He was moving.

Have you noticed this in your own life?

I have noticed that there are times when God is silent. For whatever reason He just does not speak. Yet, He is still there and aware of what is happening now, just as He was for the Jewish people during those 400 years. After learning about this, now I can see it in my own life. There are times when He has not been speaking, yet His hand has still been there. In other words, He is still involved in my life, even though I am not hearing from Him. These periods of silence are dotted with His provision. His silence is normal, everyone experiences it. It can be tempting to loose faith during these times of silence. We pray and nothing seems to happen, but keep the faith, God hasn’t forgotten us, He is very aware of what is happening to us and He will speak again, in His perfect time.

Tempted

Last week, I was tempted. I'll start at the beginning. Early in the morning I was rushed so of course the thing that goes out the window when I am rushing is my prayer time. As I am driving into work I realized that I forgot to pray. Then I was angry at myself, and promising God to pray as soon as I got the chance. Anyway, at work I had to leave my office and drive to the visitor center parking lot to go into one of the classrooms to work. (That is a normal work day for me.) As I pulled in the lot I noticed the arm on the ticket dispenser was up, so I went ahead and pulled in. Since the arm of the ticket dispenser was up I assumed the dispenser was broken and did not push the button to get one of those hot pink tickets. I found a place to park and then went into the building. Once inside I sat at a location where I was able to look out of the classroom window and see the parking lot ticket dispenser. I watched as people would pull up in their cars and push the button and then not receive a hot pink parking pass. Most of them continued into the lot and proceeded to park. (Although, I did see several people turn around and come out of the entrance to the parking lot. That entrance is one way! I guess I will be slowing down when I turn into the lot from now on, now that I know people are exiting the one way entrance.) As I watched the parking lot ticket dispenser and all the cars, I finally saw the parking lot attendant come to the dispenser and adjust the arm so that it was lowered to prevent people from driving straight into the lot. She also fixed the ticket dispenser. Now when people entered the lot they were forced to slow down and push the button for a ticket, then the arm would raise and they could enter the lot to park. The arm was finally fixed at about 10:15 am. (I arrived in the lot at 9:00 am.)

Now fast forward a couple of hours. It was time for me to leave. As I left the parking lot I suddenly had this inner turmoil. Actually, temptation is what it really was. I thought, I could tell the attendant that I had arrived at 10:00 am and save myself some money in parking fees. As I approached the exit the thoughts continued; no, it is best to tell the truth and pay the extra fee. So when I arrived at the booth I told the attendant the truth. I told her that I had arrived there at 9:00 am. To my surprise she only charged me from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. She said, 'I only wanted to charge you two dollars.'

I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I do strive to be honest. It was a momentary thought that I did not act on. However, when things are tight financially, as they are for everyone in this economy right now, I was tempted to try to stimulate my own economy. As I left God showed me the double blessing I had received in being honest. If I had lied to the parking attendant, I would have carried the guilt of that all day, but had an extra dollar in my wallet. Now, I am fortunate to carry the double blessing of honoring God with my actions, and having the extra dollar in my wallet.

Desire for God

Verse: Hebrews 10:25
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Once I became saved, I was often envious of the devotion to God and church I saw in other Christians. These people gladly went to church every time the doors were opened. I did not grow up going to church, so it was not a familiar habit to me. It took some time to develop the desire to go to church every Sunday. However, now there is no where else I’d rather be.

Desire to attend church and revival don’t seem to go together, but without a desire for God, who is found in church, there will be no spiritual revival. Vine’s Concise Dictionary of the Bible defines revive as, “to flourish anew” (p. 317). Excitement can be a great motivator, but eventually excitement wears off and it is important to have good self-discipline and self-control to continue when the going gets tough. So how do we get the desire?

Desire and self-discipline/self-control are closely linked. Sunday morning when the alarm goes off to get up for Sunday School, it is our self-discipline and self-control that gets us up and out the door. Or it is a lack of self-discipline and self-control that makes us turn off the alarm and go back to sleep. Like any other skill we are trying to acquire gaining self-discipline and control takes practice and repetition. The more we are successful at resisting that part of our human nature and Satan’s pull (James 4:7) then the more we will be able to attend church and learn the things God would have us do. The blessings come when we hear His Word and see Him work in our lives and in the lives of other Christians. The Bible says hearing His word increases our faith (Romans 10:17 ). Likewise, seeing His works and blessings in our lives and in the lives of others increases our desire for Him. It becomes a positive yet delicate cycle. Both faith and desire for God are cultivated in church and in close proximity to other Christians. Spiritual revival only happens in church, it cannot happen apart from gathering together with other believers.

Glory to the Righteous One!

Prayer:
Father, give me the strength to persevere in my pursuit of Jesus.

Read More:
Isaiah 58:13-14

Action Plan (James 1:22 & 25):
Think of something you have wanted to do for God. Make a decision to do it for Him this week. Once you have completed it, reflect on what you have learned as a result of your obedience and offer that to Him in prayer.

If God has put something on your heart and you feel comfortable sharing it make a comment below and let us know what it is. We can encourage each other by bearing one another's burdens and praying.