This just in from our global online tribe: “I love your new series on God’s Promises. Do you plan to cover God’s Promise to always be with us even when we can’t see him working”?
Yes, let’s address it right now. I’ll start with this reality: TRUTH is often SILENT.
That certainly applies to God’s Promises. They are true, always and forever, even when we cannot “see” or “feel” them at work in our life. That truth comes alive when we ask ourselves this question:
If God is doing thousands of things in our life, how many are we aware of at any given point in time?
I do not know the answer to that question, but I do know the number is small. In fact, we may only see a microscopic fraction of all the things God is doing in our life. And to make the “I can’t see God working” reality even more frustrating, what we do see often does not make any sense!
So where does that leave us in the absence of knowing everything God is doing in and through us? What should Christians think and do?
Here’s my take:
Wondering what God is doing in and through our life should prompt us to revel in God’s FOUNDATIONAL PROMISES. Here’s my short list: NEEDS Romans 8:32; PROTECTION Isaiah 41:10; STRENGTH Philippians 4:13; LOVE Romans 8:38-39; PEACE John 14:27; and TRUST Proverbs 3:5.
Then we need to trust him and allow his perfect work on the details to continue. Yes, I know…that’s much easier said than done. Our modern and technology-driven world has everyone wanting everything RIGHT NOW. That includes knowing what God is up to RIGHT NOW. We hate to wait for anything so why would this be any different?
But the point here is that God works on his own timetable and the waiting makes us look more like Jesus. Remember, God is at work (for our good) while we are unaware and waiting.
Here’s the most surprisingly part of this message:
It is possible to be content and even joyful when nothing seems to be happening because that is precisely when we KNOW something is happening.
I ask God to help me trust him when I cannot see or hear what he is doing in and through my life.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What do YOU do when it isn’t clear what God is doing in and through your life?
“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father.” Acts 1:4
