HOLD ONTO GOD WHEN HE IS SILENT

 

Do you have a hard time holding onto God when He is silent? If we give up on Him when He is silent I wonder how much we really loved Him in the first place. It does remind me of my relationship with a dear person. One summer we went to see her and her husband, while on vacation. We had a good time. When we got ready to leave and the transmission went out on our car. That little problem extended our stay. We stayed in the hotel part of the time. They had our car ready by the end of the week. I had not been feeling too good and by the time we left I felt like the relationship was stranded. It was not like we talked on the phone all the time but after that I didn't hear from her for quite a while. I sat at my house and wondered why is she giving me the silent treatment? Who knows she might have been wondering the same thing? My husband kept telling me to just call her. One day I picked up the phone and dialed her number. As the phone rang I had all these crazy ideas running though my head, she doesn't want to hear from me, she is angry at me, she …etc. Then she answered. She sounded cheerful enough and talked like nothing was wrong. I had to ask if she was mad and if that was the reason she hadn't called. She assured me she was not. I did find out she also had been pretty ill as had I. She was just unable to reach out to me. That day we both decided that instead of sitting around our houses wondering if the other was upset we would just call. Problem solved. We still have occasions that we do not talk but I know that she is my best friend. Her silence is not that she does not care, it is only silence. What to do when God does not speak? First of all make sure you have not done something you should not have. Make sure your conscious is clear. Then remember that there are times of silence. It is not something to be afraid of. It is a time to keep reading His word and talking to Him. You will hear Him again. His presence is there. Love can be silent as well as talking. Also we don't always hear because we are listening to the great noise around us and His soft voice gets drowned out. Love God at all times and trust His love for you. Have a great day.

FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE

What a saying for fear – face everything and rise. It is much easier to do just the opposite face everything and run. I don't really think it's facing something if you are running from it. Facing means you are looking it right in the eyes and seeing it for what it is worth. Running is trying to get away from the situation as quickly as possible. It is much easier to run from an uncomfortable situation then take the actions it requires to face it and rise. If you start running you might find yourself like Forest Gump not stopping for many days, weeks, or even months. Did the running solve the problem? I don't think so, he returned home to the same situation, then faced it and moved forward. Running is great exercise. It can help clear your mind. It can also help you get a better perspective on your situation if you allow it to. But the kind of running for exercise is not what I'm talking about. The running I am talking about is one when you are trying to get away from problems or fears. The question becomes when do you stop running from a problem or fear once you start? The difficulty will not solve itself. It will still effect you. It can even take a toll on your health. Just because you do not face your fears does not mean it is not there. You might not even realize what fear is doing to you but others can see. They might even try to help but you have put blinders on and are running so fast that you don't take the time to really look. I would challenge you to stop and think is running working for you? Is it taking the fear away? If not than you should start facing the fear and rise. The only thing I have found to solve the terror in my life is to face it head on. Tackle the fear, look it square in the eyes, see it for what it is worth, and then begin to chip away at it. As you chip away you are rising. Allow those chips to be stepping stones for you. Other ways to help you rise is to keep yourself surrounded by positive people and things. Do not give in to anything that does not build you up. Keep only the friends that inspire you to be the best person possible. Read uplifting books and listen to uplifting music. All of these things will help you rise above the fear that otherwise might cause you to be crippled in many ways. Don't wear yourself out by running any longer, face those ugly old fears and rise to greater heights than you can even imagined possible. You are very special. You are created in the image of God. You are created for greatness. Allow that to take THE place of fear and rise to your greatness. Have a great day.