One of the most difficult seasons we can go through is when God is silent. It shakes me up, even if it’s only a few days. While I was at the beach, I presumed that would be the perfect time to hear from God, but by the second day, He wasn’t speaking. I was reading the last chapters of Isaiah, 40-66, with all those great passages, and I thought more than once that God was really missing a great opportunity. Surely, He had something to say…

I got tremendously frustrated, and began to suspect that my trip was a mistake. Every old reflexive fear and insecurity roared back. Did I make God angry somehow? Is that why He wasn’t speaking? Or maybe I was right after all, and that deep intimate relationship wasn’t possible.

The day before I left, as I sat on the beach, mentally reviewing the week, I remembered the prodigal. That’s when I heard from God. “I don’t want to overwhelm you,” He said. “That banquet is yours, but I want you to enjoy it to its fullest. I don’t want you to question whether you belong or not. We’re going to take this slowly so that when you know, you know, and you never question your place with Me again.”

God knows my frame and remembers that I am dust. The silent days… Just because I’m not getting constant reinforcement from my Father doesn’t mean His heart has changed. Not at all. He was doing a work that only He could do, in His wise way. It was a lesson in trust. The parting words He gave me were, “Hold on tightly to the things you know in your head, and I will make sure your heart understands them in time.”

I’ll keep you posted on how that’s going.