“Then Jesus went with them to an olive Grove called Gethsemane…He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death… He went on a little further and bowed his face to ground, praying, ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering, be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.’
Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”
So he went to pray a third time saying the same things again. (Mat. 26:36-39, 42, 44 NLT)
God’s silencewas His answer.
Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to your name.” (Jh. 12:27-28 NLT)
The entire transaction at Gethsemane is for our benefit.
Jesus had a word from His Father – the cross. He was in great distress and pain. When we have a word from God and there is silence, Jesus here lets us know we can be authentic with the Father.
I knew God wanted us in Turlock. In the years of excruciating pain created by a traditional church, God did not explain what was on His heart. It became even darker when three Pastor’s Selection Committees were led NOT to call me as pastor. What God brought out that cauldron eventually transformed all of our lives and the lives of countless others.
There can be times in which there’s no word from God.
God’s silence can be more painful than God‘s “No.” If He cares, He would not leave us in silence feeling abandoned.
“How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?
Rescue me from their fierce attacks.
Protect my life from these lions!O Lord, you know all about this.
Do not stay silent.
Do not abandon me now, O Lord.” (Ps.35:17, 22 NLT)
God‘s silence can Leave us stumbling in darkness to a place of not even knowing what to pray.
That darkness is meant to bring us to a place of absolute surrender and brokenness of our own willfulness and to all we can do is trust.
“Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys his servant?
If you are walking in darkness,
without a ray of light,
trust (lie extended on the ground)* in the Lord
and rely (lean)* on your God.
But watch out, you who live (gird, encompass, equip)* in your own light
and warm yourselves by your own fires.
This is the reward you will receive from me:
You will soon fall down in great torment (a place of pain)*.”
(Isa 50:11-12 NLT) (*my insertion)
God’s silence is His answer. Until we are willing to embrace His silence as His trust in us, we will be stuck there.
“God‘s silence is the sign He is bringing you into even more deeper intimacy with himself.”1
Before we move on, take a moment to think about when God was silent with you.
What’s it like for you to experience God‘s silence? What is your reaction? Where does that leave you in your relation to him?
It is in THAT experience of darkness, the Holy Spirit calls us to reflect on what He has done.
“But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.” (Ps. 77:11 NLT)
He challenges us to find something in the silence to thank Him and praise Him for.
In (the sphere of)* every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. (1Thes. 5:18 AMP.) (*My insertion)
I do not want to sound insensitive, what keeps you from thanking or praising God in the silence? Are you willing to do so not matter how you feel?
Can you PTLA? That is praise the lord anyhow!
Is it possible it’s a Holy Hush?
Do you need to share with someone you can trust?
“By helping each other with your troubles [ bearing each other’s burdens], you truly obey [accomplish; fulfill] the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2 EXB)
“There burns a fire with sacred heat
White hot with holy flame
And all who dare pass through its blaze
Will not emerge the same
Some as bronze, and some as silver
Some as gold, then with great skill
All are hammered by their sufferings
On the anvil of His will.”
“I'm learning now to trust His touch
To crave the fire's embrace
For though my past with sin was etched
His mercies did erase
Each time His purging cleanses deeper
I'm not sure that I'll survive
Yet the strength in growing weaker
Keeps my hungry soul alive”“The Refiner's fire
Has now become my sole desire
Purged and cleansed and purified
That the Lord be glorified
He is consuming my soul
Refining me, making me whole
No matter what I may lose
I choose the Refiner's fire”2
1 O, Chambers, My Upmost for His Highest, (discovery House publishers, Barbour Publishing Inc., Unrichsville, Ohio, Oct. 10)
2 https://genius.com//Steve Green – The Refiner's Fire Lyrics | Genius Lyrics