We've all done this, we meet a cute guy or girl and get their cell number and we start texting them. After about a couple days of flirting, all seems well until one day he/she doesn't respond to your texts anymore. Matter of fact, he/she doesn't respond to you all day. You resend the messages about 5 or 6 times just to be SURE he/she got them. Now here's the process: At first, you just brush it off thinking "well maybe their just busy or don't have their phone" but then time begins to sink in. You become more and more impatient. You then become paranoid. You now begin to think maybe she lost interest in me? maybe she found another guy? maybe I said something that offended her? Maybe she doesn't want to be in a relationship? Maybe I'm just not good enough? You fall into a list of "maybes" and try to figure out why the person you messaged won't respond. More time goes by, then you become angry, you begin to think "what is her problem? why won't she message me? Is she ignoring me? Well 2 can play at that game! she's stuck up. I know I'm way too good for her anyways..her loss. You then begin to try and stalk him/her on facebook to see when they last posted a status, maybe you find one and say "well if she can post a status, why can't she text me back?" You then become depressed. You have tried everything to figure out just why this person you messaged won't text you back...and then you get it. The message you've been waiting for: "Hey sorry I haven't texted you all day, I didn't have my phone, I just got 12 of the same texts from you just now"
Do you see the breakdown here? Silence has an effect on us that pushes us out of our comfort zone. Imagine you're in a comedy club, and the comedian walks out and stands there for 30 minutes not saying a word. Not moving, not smiling. Just standing there doing nothing. At first, you would laugh thinking it's apart of the act, time goes on it's still kind of funny, but then it just gets uncomfortable. You begin to think "how long is this going to last? Is he ok? People shift in their seats, and silence falls over the crowd. No one moves. They wait anxiously for something to happen...but nothing does... and that makes us uncomfortable. The waiting. Waiting for the unknown to happen. It's a anxious sort of wait, like when you wait in the waiting room of a doctor's office, waiting for the test results or for a surgery that you need done. You're nervous, but anxious to get to it. You crave it, you need it, you hunger for the instantaneous response. Have you ever noticed that you tend to hear things when it's completely silent? It makes sense doesn't it? If it was noisy, you couldn't hear anything but when it's dead quiet, the silence begins to play tricks on you. You start hearing things that aren't there. The next time you're home alone, try shutting off everything in your house, eliminate all sound in your house and just listen. You'd be amazed at how much you'd think you hear.
The text message example I just gave, is that not like our relationship with God? If we don't hear something right away, then we begin to question Him or the circumstances. Maybe He's mad at me? Maybe He doesn't want to talk to me? We begin to make up our own truths and believe them, because that makes us feel safe. God wants to talk to you, me and everyone else. Just because God is silent, doesn't mean He's not there. Just because the person doesn't reply back within 20 seconds, doesn't mean that person doesn't exist anymore. God will speak to us when He wants to speak to us. God doesn't just talk JUST to hear Himself talk, there is always a purpose behind it. When God speaks, it is because He wants to reveal something about Himself to you, or cause you to action. He may reveal something to you, or teach you something. He may complete His work in you to impact someone else's life.
I have trouble understanding this. Lately I've felt far away from Him, or I just having been listening good enough. I felt spiritually drained. Sometimes God is silent because we either have sin separating us from Him that we need to make right, or because He wants to reveal a deeper understanding of who He is.
A thing to remember to get you through anything, is patience. Though it may be difficult to master or even understand, but it'll help us not jump to so many false conclusions. There will be times when God is silent, but don't let that discourage you because He has a greater purpose behind everything. He created you before time began, and God loves us no matter what. Don't let silence twist your mind and thinking, but rather fill that silence with a prayer to Him, and block away any sound that isn't there. Faith above all else, can get us through even the most difficult of times. Patience requires perseverance and practice.
Stay positive
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