Questions to Ask Ourselves when God is Silent
Mar2
1) Where is my focus? How much have I truly wanted God and how much may I actually be desiring the things of the world (safety, health, physical needs…)?
2) When did I last hear Him and what did He say? Was I obedient with the last message He gave me? Did I learn and grow from it? Was it an encouragement that I need to rest in during this rough time? An exhortation that I still need to obey?
3) What things am I hearing and who is saying them? Am I believing deceptive spirits and worldly advice? Is the Lord speaking in small ways that I’ve brushed off as something else?
4) Am I really listening for Him? Have I limited His response by assuming He will say something particular? Am I open to Him speaking whatever He wants through any means?
5) Have I been willing and able to rest in His presence in silence? Does my faith depend on His affirmation, or can I abide in Him knowing His silence is not an absence?
6) Do I know His voice well or is a personal encounter and relationship with God something I need to put extra focus on? May it be that His silence is a hint for me to look for Him more thoroughly–an invitation that He’s hiding so that I can find Him?
7) How can I simplify my life to make room for the Lord’s voice? How can I position myself to receive more of the Holy Spirit?
Have I forgotten anything? Can you think of other helpful things to reflect on and consider when God seems distant, silent, or absent?
The Positive Side of Illness, Fatigue, and Physical Pain
Jan0
I wrote this over a month ago in the midst of a physically trying moment and didn’t have the energy to edit it into a post. I’m now 21 weeks pregnant, and have been feeling much better: nausea only in the evenings, less fatigue, and the comfort of feeling our little one move and remembering why I’m doing this.
This is what I wrote ten weeks ago:
I’ve pretty much been sick all eleven weeks of my pregnancy, minus a few great days here and there. I’ve had the flu; I’ve had a long-lasting cough that threatened pre-mature contractions; and the normal pregnancy symptoms (nausea, headaches, fatigue) have been enough to deal with on their own.
But while my tolerances have been stretched, this has also been an excellent opportunity for me to see my spiritual weaknesses and to fully depend on the Lord.
There is nothing like having the areas we most depend on ripped out from under us. I’ve always been physically pretty healthy, and didn’t realize how much I’d pulled comfort and strength from my place of good health. Having almost constant pain lately has been quite humbling. I’ve also become aware of other areas in my spirit that need spiritual transformation, which likely would have gone unnoticed without this ‘forced fasting’.
For the first time, I think I’m understanding the spiritual directive to have joy within suffering–to count it my blessing when I experience trials (James 1:2-4, 2 Cor 12:7-10, Phil 4:11). I’m not sure there’s a way to articulate this concept, but it is certainly a blessing to experience such a joy. I have especially have fond memories of spending hours vomiting with intermittent praises to the Lord, and though I also don’t want that pain again anytime soon, it’s really quite amazing that I’d even think in such a way.
To my friends who are also facing physical trials: I want to encourage you not to pray immediately for healing or a ‘fixed’ circumstance, but to first press into the raw love of the Lord. I have frequently been blessed with sudden immediate healing from the Lord upon praying–there is definitely a place for this and it can increase our faith in a miracle working God. But let the Spirit lead you to pray before you assume you know what’s best. I have occasionally been lead to pray for other things: for endurance and strength to face the trial, for the physical manifestation of the Lord’s love and peace, for wisdom and revelation of who He is, for heart, soul and spirit to be transformed into His nature, for the ability to rest in Him despite the circumstance, and so forth. Sometimes the answers to heart issues are much more rewarding than the healing of the physical issues.
I pray we would not miss out on any of the Lord’s gifts, even when they come in painful packages. There is a time and a season for everything under heaven (Eccl 3).
Verses on Spiritual Warfare (Part Two: Strengthening Before Battle)
Oct0
Coming from an athletic family, I like to call these the “defensive” verses. They focus on what to do before the spiritual attack comes–how to “put on the armor of God” so you aren’t shaken when the battle shifts to your home front. It is not, by any means a ‘complete’ list, but rather a sample of the verses I’ve collected through my experiences.
The themes are:
1. Remain in Christ by connecting deeply with Him
- Read scripture
- Test all things and remain only in Truth
- Pray in the Spirit
- Be on the alert through watching and praying
2. Stop remaining in that which is not Christ
- Battle now against your flesh, so you can battle later against the enemy of this world
- If you know you’re in sin (disobedience to God), do everything you can to get out
- Sacrifice the things that aren’t beneficial even if they aren’t ‘bad’
Verses on How to Fight the Defensive Battle:
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true…let your mind dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
“Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth” (Ephesians 6:14).
“The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light…put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:12 & 14).
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:10-13; continue through verse 17 for specifics).
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:6-8).
“Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:12-14).
“Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).
“Run in such a way that you may win…I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24, 26-27).
Spring Cleaning and Spiritual Cleaning
Aug0
I’m on an extended vacation visiting family and have been helping with some ‘Spring’ cleaning now that my youngest brother is off to college and my parents will have a large home to themselves. It has certainly been interesting to sort through old linens and old memories.
So much of what I’d personally collected and designed over the years is so out of character with who God has re-created me to be. I was throwing things out left and right, and even chose to destroy a couple pieces of art I’d made while being influenced by the wrong spirits.
I’ve learned that physical cleaning and spiritual cleaning often go hand in hand. It is not within God’s nature to be cluttered, dirty, and deteriorating, but rather to demonstrate His glory: we are to be good stewards of what He’s given us (whether small or large). There’s a reason why physically cleaning can be more relaxing and make things look newer and more valuable. Simply: cleanliness is part of God’s nature, and the other is not.
Of course, both the physical and spiritual realms are important. If you’ve never spiritually cleaned your home, it’s just as essential. You keep your home spiritually clean by regularly inviting the presence of the Lord (spending time worshiping God through prayer, song, reading the Bible, talking admiringly about Him, et cetera), and by keeping out that which is detestable to Him.
That second part is especially important: getting rid of the detestable stuff. If you own anything that isn’t pleasing to Jesus, especially if it’s been involved in a religious ceremony for other ‘gods’, it can be like a beacon to attract spirits who think they can make a home in those who are using the ‘demonically sacred’ item. This can plateau your spiritual growth (and, in my experience, even invite tormenting demons–in my case, I wasn’t aware of the affect until I was advised to get rid of some things and the torment decreased).
You do this kind of spiritual cleansing by walking through your home and praying that if there is anything you need to get rid of that Jesus would make it clear. Then be obedient to what you think you’re hearing–even if it’s your favorite book, or a great CD, or the token you bought abroad, or the necklace that’s been in your family for generations. Nothing in this life can compare to knowing Jesus on a personal level.
There is a promise that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8), and one of the ways we do this is to chose to honor Him over every other thing by (as the verse says) “cleansing our hands”. We physically and spiritually clean the best we can, and thus, invite His Spirit to come in to renew and strengthen the rest of us.
Evidence of Repentance
Jul0
In 2 Corinthians 7:11, Paul tells the church of Corinth what repentance looks like. True repentance is evidenced by:
- earnestness (diligence)
- vindication (some versions say, ‘clearing of ourselves’)
- indignation (we begin to hate the sin; it becomes disgusting to us)
- fear of the Lord (reverence to the point of trembling before Him)
- longing (intense desire)
- zeal (we pursue, embrace, and defend Him with enthusiasm)
- avenging of wrong (we move from tolerating our own sin to punishing it; we force sin to depart from us by submitting to God)
When we begin demonstrating these attitudes, we show ourselves to be innocent in the matter–true repentance (repentance means ‘a change of mind’) has taken place.
Remember when God the Father instructs Moses about how the Jewish people should sacrifice to the Lord? Exodus 29:10-30, amongst other places, shows that there was to be a “sin offering”, “burnt offering”, “wave offering”, and “heave offering” (other passages even include “guilt offering”).
Let’s not cut repentance short by stopping after ’sin offering’; let’s continue to offer a fragrant aroma of prayer to the Lord and to continue fighting against our flesh until everything in competition with the Lord is purged from us.
It’s not enough for us to JUST confess our sins and receive forgiveness–this is a good start, but Christianity is more about seeing and knowing Jesus than simply being forgiven. That is, a Christian can be forgiven and ’saved’, and yet not be walking in the freedom Christ intended. The freedom occurs when we let godly sorrow move us to full submission and a renewed mind. As we experience this full repentence, we also begin to experience the Lord Himself because the cloudiness of sin clears itself from us enough that we can begin to see our Lord.
This blog addresses the 'sticky' topics of Western Christianity in an attempt to shake, refocus, and unite the body of Christ, and to reveal the true gospel message to unbelievers.
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