God is waiting in the silence,
For a heart that He can fill;
He must find it cleansed and empty,
With a spirit calm and still.
God is waiting in the silence,
Oh, to know that He is near!
Earth recedes and heaven opens,
God is waiting, God is here.
God is waiting in the silence,
As the world goes rushing by;
Will not someone stop and listen,
Answer quickly, “Here am I”?
“God is Waiting in the Silence” by Oswald J. Smith, Canadian Pastor (1889-1986)
We can’t seem to get away from noise.
Kids Screaming……….People Arguing Everywhere…………..Traffic jams and honking horns
Gangs and Guns………………………..Police and EMS Sirens
We are always looking for a quiet place, a place of solitude, a place to be alone, when things get too much for us we want that silence.
From the beginning God wanted us to be happy and joyful and enjoy life to the fullest. He had only one request of us, that we obey and trust in Him. But as we can see through the history of man, man wanted to do what man wanted to do, and where did it get us….searching for quiet and solitude from all the chaos man has created.
Now God on the other hand, tried over and over and over through time, to give man a chance for the enjoyment of life that He planned on giving us.
First there was Adam and Eve, they disobeyed God right off the bat, and weren’t deserving of God’s goodness for them. Genesis 2:15-17, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die’.”
As they had children, the evil thread crept through to them as Cain killed Abel, his brother, and murder was afoot. Genesis 4:6-8, “So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.’ Now Cain talked with Abel, is brother; and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother and killed him.”
Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities where adultery, pridefulness, uncharitableness, and homosexuality, was soaring. As such, the cities were destroyed due to the defiance of God. Genesis 19:24-25, “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground.” God’s judgement is swift and sure!
Remember Moses, he tried to bring the people of Israel to the promised land God had for them, out of Egypt, but they grumbled and were unsatisfied most of the time. They even went so far as to create an idol of gold to worship. How sad and frustrating for God that would have been. So for 40 years they wandered. Joshua 5:6, “For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Time and time again through the Old Testament right through to the last book, Malachi (only 4 chapters…read it), God tried over and over to give people chances of seeing their wilful ways and start trusting in Him. Throughout Israel’s history, the nation failed and God called His people back to Himself. Every time God speaks His love or loving correction to the people of Israel, they respond with a shrug or a sneer, much like the way people are today, when they hear the Word of God. Their attitude was the result of a thousand small compromises growing into out-and-out disobedience. God’s final word of the Old Testament concerns judgement for sin and our inability to love Him without the help of His grace. With this final word God became silent for 400 years. God revealed nothing new to his people, because no one was honouring Him.
Can you imagine someone who loved you so much decided not to talk to you
for weeks, months, let alone years, and 400 of them.
BUT – Our God is a “second chance giver”. So after the long interlude of silence, He decided to speak one more word to humanity. To give man a chance to be whole; to get everything they could ever want; enjoy life to the fullest.
God’s final Word was Jesus.
John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
This Word, became flesh, born in a manger, was raised as any child would be, but was more, because He was of God. He was God’s Son. He was God, but He was just as human as we are and dwelt among us.
Jesus carried all our sins to the cross, where He shed His blood, to die for us, as we know sin will only bring us death in the end. Jesus was God the Father’s last word to the whole human race, to tell us how much He loves us and wants us to be with Him in eternity. Living our lives through Jesus, with Jesus and for Jesus, is our only way to meet with our Father in heaven.
God’s written word “the Bible” is God speaking to us. Through the centuries the Holy Spirit gave the words to write to the prophets, so we would have a written account of all that God wanted to tell us. Jesus is our physical example of how God wants us to live.
What are we waiting for? What are we expecting out of life? While so many are waiting and watching for some fantasy helper, God is waiting for us, and seeking us.
If you don’t hear God speaking to you, you can start by asking Jesus into your heart, by earnestly saying this little prayer. It will be your first step in learning to hear God speaking His love to you, as you follow Him each day.
