AXIOM
•When God is silent, God is disciplining.
•Accomplishing God-given vision in the displeasure of silence.
•How God gives you what you want.
•Seeking God in all things. “As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended over him.”
Genesis 15:12 “What can I do now? God is silent,” I pondered. “I struggle with accepting the reality of hard situations in order to move forward. Perhaps, God is teaching me discipline.”
The silence we experience in life might be God discipling so that we may seek him in the darkness.
I realize that through the discomfort of silence, it is not easy to wait in the darkness, because it feels uncertain, but that is when God gives vision. Scottish Baptist evangelist and teacher, Oswald Chambers, once said, 'When God gives a vision and darkness follows, wait; God will make you in accordance with the vision He has given if you wait on His timing.” The season of waiting points us toward the vision God wants to bring from our lives. It takes God’s discipline to receive it.
Then doubt creeps in, 'Sometimes God will give you what you want but not how you want it to be.' A few years ago, in a season of waiting, I realized I needed to trust God in His timing. I did not want to seek God only when things in my life fall apart. The ceiling in the kitchen at the house I was living in during college collapsed because the toilet needed to be replaced, and one of my roommates perpetuated the issue, instead of making us aware it kept clogging.
At the time, I was writing a grant to participate in a college class to work with a professor on a book project. Chances are, I would have received the grant if it were not for the stress and time to deal with the kitchen ceiling collapsing. I wanted an answer for all of this, but God's answer was to sit in silence and accept the reality of it. It was not how I wanted things to be.
I was disciplined, although, I felt called to be a part of my commitments as a college student.
Perhaps Abram was in a similar situation in Genesis 15 when God gave him a vision about giving the Israelites the promised land.
In the vision, Abram was given the promised land and a long life. Except he would not be able to experience the vision in his lifetime. The Israelites would experience 430 years of slavery (215 years) in Egypt and exile (215 years) to get to Canaan, according to the timeline in Exodus 12:40 before they occupied the promised land. (For further details visit biblearcheology.org.) During the time of darkness, Abram was disciplined to trust in God's timing, even though he was called to play a role in the vision of leading the Israelites to the promised land.
Now what to do?
My complaint is not the harshness of God’s silence; my complaint is dealing with the struggle of how to move forward and accept the reality of silence. Through the displeasure of silence, you learn the discipline of trusting in God’s timing. Discipline can be an uncomfortable challenge, but it can point you toward something that will accomplish the vision God has given. Those times when I feared the ceiling collapsing are now over, I have moved on from that season, I no longer live there, I have a diploma now.
I have writing commitments I’m still working on. Yet, somethings still happen unexpectedly that I can’t control. It would seem God is still working on the vision, in His timing. And I must continue to seek Him in all of it.
God, in seasons of silence, it’s hard not to complain. In these seasons, I’m challenged to trust Your timing, You are faithful God! I seek you in all things. I don’t need an answer for the outcome; I’ll wait and accept the reality of the situation.
I will continue to learn to be disciplined and follow through, waiting for Your vision to be revealed. Amen Vision And Darkness (utmost.org) Holman Note Taking Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible, Nashville, Tennessee, 1999. Print https://biblearchaeology.org/ research/patriarchal-era/3228-theduration- of-the-israelitesojourn- in-egypt.
Updated publication found on Becwritesfaith.com. https://utmost.org/the-discipline of-dismay Holman Note Taking Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible, Nashville, Tennessee, 1999. Print.
HLN Editor Becca Roberts ✲
