Are you grateful? – Day 11

During the past few years, several readers testified that they were going through tough times. One reader asked frankly: “Why isn’t God answering my prayers?!” Are you also experiencing a “quiet time” in your relationship with God?

During the Second World War, many Jews hid from the Germans in cellars. Later on, a poem was discovered on one of the walls in such a cellar:

“I believe in the sun even when it isn’t shining.

I believe in love even when I do not feel it.

I believe in God even when he is silent.”

From time to time, we also experience quiet seasons in our lives. We pray for direction and guidance. Silence. We pray for a spouse. Silence. We pray for a job promotion. Silence. We pray for healing of an illness. Silence. We pray for a baby. Silence. Or we pray for financial recovery and experience silence. What is your reaction amidst these silences?

Moses experienced a quiet time in the wilderness when he fled there after killing an Egyptian. Joseph also experienced a quiet time in the Egyptian prison, after being thrown in jail because of the false allegations of Potiphar’s wife. And mankind experienced a quiet season of 400 years, from the last message from God in the Old Testament until the coming of Jesus.

Is God absent in quiet seasons? Of course not. He is always at work – in the quiet seasons, God works behind the scenes. Like a plant’s roots need to grow downwards in order for the plant to remain standing when it shoots up, our character and faith also needs to be strong enough so we can remain standing when God brings about a sudden enlargement of our territories. The test, therefore, remains in the quiet seasons. God wants to make sure that we are ready for increase.

In Psalm 46:10 we read: “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honoured by every nation. I will be honoured throughout the world.”

Moses remained faithful. Over a period of 40 years, he got to know the desert like the palm of his hand. Little did he know that at age 80, God would call him for the most important job of his life: “Lead the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land” – through this desert. Joseph passed the character test as well, and after 12 years in prison, God promoted him in one day from being a prisoner to being second-in-command of Egypt. And when mankind was ready, the prophecies of a Saviour set in our hearts, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ to save us from sin.

Let’s be thankful to God for the “quiet seasons” in our lives, knowing that He is probably working behind the scenes in our lives. And let’s pass the character test so we can experience God’s sudden increase. Remember, God never makes mistakes. His timing is always perfect. God bless.