Whew! It's been a while since I was last here... Excuse me while I dust and remove the cobwebs. ;) I've been working on a novel - all set and ready for one more read-through before being sent off. *Fingers crossed*
~ But that's not what I'm here for.
A few weeks ago, I asked God why I wasn't hearing from Him as clearly as I used to. And, ever since then, I keep hearing the same theme over and over again. It's not a word or a statement that I'm hearing, rather, it's a knowing, which speaks to me about hearing from God. And what it tells me, in my heart - where 'knowing' is accepted whether the brain understands it or not - is that those who do not wish to hear what God is saying, will not.
He gave us free will, remember, and He does not step over that line. He never enters through a door, into a heart, arms or any situation, without being invited. Our will sees to that. Our will opens such a door, and it closes it. Our prayers - be them formal or a heartfelt wishing set before Him by an open heart - is the invitation.
Put it this way: It's like a phone call. The phone rings, but unless you answer it, you're not going to hear the voice on the other end of the line.
You can cry out to God all you like, but if your heart is closed to hearing His voice, then so will your ears be.
As a young Christian, when my heart was open to hearing from God because I was just so blown away that He could love me as He did, and because I had a great deal of baggage I needed Him to take from me, I asked, "How come You never spoke to me when I was a kid?" and He replied, "I did. I was the positive voice. You chose to listen to the negative one."
So, it's not that God is keeping silent, it is me/you/us who choose not to listen. For me, as a child - insecure and convinced I was unworthy of love - I turned my ear from the positive voice, from the voice of love, from God, because my heart couldn't accept it.
What my heart is closed to, so will my ear be.
But it's not just a sense of unworthiness that will deafen us to the voice and heart of God. There are other things that can cause it.
Maybe we don't want to hear what He has to say because we fear He won't give us the answer we want.
Maybe we're in sin and we really don't want to let that go - whether we're believers or not.
Maybe we're angry. No one wants to listen to reason or to love or to anything else when anger is having a field day in our heart, ay.
Maybe we're scared. Scared of God. Scared of others knowing we believe in God. Scared of mishearing His voice. Scared of being let down. Scared of being rejected. Scared of finding more hurt. Scared what hearing from Him might cost us.
Maybe there are many reasons why we won't listen or are failing to hear Him. But whatever the reason/s, we need to be honest with ourselves about it - or them. We need to search our heart, not asking why God doesn't speak to us, but why we're not opening our hearts and ears to Him and His possible answer.
~ But that's not what I'm here for.
A few weeks ago, I asked God why I wasn't hearing from Him as clearly as I used to. And, ever since then, I keep hearing the same theme over and over again. It's not a word or a statement that I'm hearing, rather, it's a knowing, which speaks to me about hearing from God. And what it tells me, in my heart - where 'knowing' is accepted whether the brain understands it or not - is that those who do not wish to hear what God is saying, will not.
He gave us free will, remember, and He does not step over that line. He never enters through a door, into a heart, arms or any situation, without being invited. Our will sees to that. Our will opens such a door, and it closes it. Our prayers - be them formal or a heartfelt wishing set before Him by an open heart - is the invitation.
Put it this way: It's like a phone call. The phone rings, but unless you answer it, you're not going to hear the voice on the other end of the line.
You can cry out to God all you like, but if your heart is closed to hearing His voice, then so will your ears be.
As a young Christian, when my heart was open to hearing from God because I was just so blown away that He could love me as He did, and because I had a great deal of baggage I needed Him to take from me, I asked, "How come You never spoke to me when I was a kid?" and He replied, "I did. I was the positive voice. You chose to listen to the negative one."
So, it's not that God is keeping silent, it is me/you/us who choose not to listen. For me, as a child - insecure and convinced I was unworthy of love - I turned my ear from the positive voice, from the voice of love, from God, because my heart couldn't accept it.
What my heart is closed to, so will my ear be.
But it's not just a sense of unworthiness that will deafen us to the voice and heart of God. There are other things that can cause it.
Maybe we don't want to hear what He has to say because we fear He won't give us the answer we want.
Maybe we're in sin and we really don't want to let that go - whether we're believers or not.
Maybe we're angry. No one wants to listen to reason or to love or to anything else when anger is having a field day in our heart, ay.
Maybe we're scared. Scared of God. Scared of others knowing we believe in God. Scared of mishearing His voice. Scared of being let down. Scared of being rejected. Scared of finding more hurt. Scared what hearing from Him might cost us.
Maybe there are many reasons why we won't listen or are failing to hear Him. But whatever the reason/s, we need to be honest with ourselves about it - or them. We need to search our heart, not asking why God doesn't speak to us, but why we're not opening our hearts and ears to Him and His possible answer.
You know, it's the same with the Bible. You can read it all you want, from front to back and upside down, and that a thousand times during the course of your life, but if your heart is stuck on what you want to hear, what you believe, on seeking to appease your own flesh and agenda, you will not hear Him. Oh, He will speak. He loves to talk to His children - whether they have faith in Him or not. But it's up to you whether or not you will hear Him. You cannot hear Him through a closed heart. Your will locks Him out.
You can't interact with love - which God is - with a closed heart. Or if you do, never expect to understand it.
God is love and His word is life. And He offers you both. But you don't have to accept either.
Me, I confess I didn't want to hear because there was only one answer I wanted...but in opening my heart only to what I wanted, I closed God out. I pushed Him away. It wasn't until I opened my heart to Him in need of an answer to why I wasn't hearing from Him that He was able to point this out to me.
Was He angry with me for doing this? No, not at all. He is love. True love doesn't sway with mood. He wasn't offended. He understood. And now, because of His mercy and grace, the cry of my heart can once again be heard over the nagging of the flesh: Above all, I want God. All else will pass; all else will die; all else will leave me; all else may fail. He won't.
So now I open my heart to Him, knowing He is love and knowing He does have my best interests at heart...even if that means not getting exactly what I want. And now I can hear Him again. :) *sigh*
You can't interact with love - which God is - with a closed heart. Or if you do, never expect to understand it.
God is love and His word is life. And He offers you both. But you don't have to accept either.
Me, I confess I didn't want to hear because there was only one answer I wanted...but in opening my heart only to what I wanted, I closed God out. I pushed Him away. It wasn't until I opened my heart to Him in need of an answer to why I wasn't hearing from Him that He was able to point this out to me.
Was He angry with me for doing this? No, not at all. He is love. True love doesn't sway with mood. He wasn't offended. He understood. And now, because of His mercy and grace, the cry of my heart can once again be heard over the nagging of the flesh: Above all, I want God. All else will pass; all else will die; all else will leave me; all else may fail. He won't.
So now I open my heart to Him, knowing He is love and knowing He does have my best interests at heart...even if that means not getting exactly what I want. And now I can hear Him again. :) *sigh*
Now, having said all that...for those of you who do have your heart and ears tuned into God but have found Him to be silent, I would like to share a few things God placed upon my heart during times of me nagging Him about His silence. And this silence had come during times when I had not turned a deaf ear to Him.
He placed upon my heart:
* "Have you ever stopped to think that while I'm quiet, I'm thinking of ways to bless you?" (No! Until then, I had never thought of that!)
* "I want to teach you there are other ways to hear from Me; not just through my voice." (Such as in actions and peace and love...)
* "I'm going deeper inside you (into your heart). You've never been to those depths so you will find it difficult to hear Me. [As we do when we fear.] When you are ready, you will hear me again."
And I'm sure there are many out there who know of other reasons God falls silent from time to time. But, whatever the reason, search your heart. Be honest with yourself. And remember, sometimes God is quiet, but He's never absent...
Until next time,
all my love,
Donna. :) xxx