Silent Trust

I want to be able to write a powerful word today. I want to be able to encourage you to push forward to higher heights and deeper depths. The problem is I don’t have anything to share. I just hear silence. I’m not sad or depressed, I’m just waiting. Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in a place where you know that God has something awesome in store for you or powerful for you to do but it just hasn’t been shared? It’s weird, isn’t it? Even more than that, it’s uncomfortable. I like having the answers. I like knowing what’s coming next and what the plan is to get there and when that isn’t available, I feel a bit shaken. I may be alone but I get the feeling that I am not.

This morning as I was praying, God showed me a vision of a line of school lockers. They were decorated on the outside, some had balloons, some were painted but they all had locks on them. I didn’t try to get in them but I could just tell that the contents were not available to me. I remember that I didn’t feel concerned about that, I just acknowledged it. I asked God for understanding and He didn’t immediately give it to me.  But as I began to write just now, He told me that there are things that He is working on in me that I’m not ready for but they are for my good. The decorations on the outside of the locker was about the expectation and the anticipation but the lack of concern that I felt represented peace that at the right time, the locks will fall open.

Why did I share that? I don’t know! But what I do know is that God has His own timing and sometimes you get to a place where you aren’t sure which way to go or what He has in store for you. It’s easy to panic when that happens because you want clear direction and steps to follow. But I believe that God is trying to get you to a place where you can trust Him enough to wait on Him to unlock the locks. He wants you to be able to trust Him enough to keep listening when all you hear is silence. He wants you to trust Him enough to answer when He calls. Some of you have been asking God some tough questions. Why am I still without a job? Why did you give me these people to lead? Why do I have to get all of the hard assignments? Why can’t I move forward from this grief? Why? Why? Why? Sometimes the answer lies in simply trusting God enough to ask the question and being open enough to hear the answer. I am just crazy enough to believe that God is waiting on you to engage with Him so that He can walk you through the process to get you where you need to go. I think I hear a lock opening…do you?

A friend reminded me that there can be power in silence. Sometimes God is using that time to prepare you for the next battle. Sometimes, He is giving you time to rest. Sometimes, He just wants to see if you will trust Him. A closed door is not always a negative answer. In many instances, it is God’s way of protecting you. I’m sure that if I had access to some of those things hidden inside of those lockers, I probably wouldn’t handle them right. So I believe God can protect you even from yourself. I was reminded of a few powerful verses in Psalm 62 that I want to close with. They reminded me that even in times of uncertainty and silence, God has ensured your victory. “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” (Ps. 62: 1, 5-8 NLT)

May God give you the strength to wait expectantly even in the silence…AMEN