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We’ve always been taught to pray, to include God in everything–from the smallest decisions to the largest ones. We’re told to cling to God when things don’t make sense, to rely on Him for answers. But what do we when God remains SILENT?
The Bible says: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” It sounds nice in theory, but why does reality feel so damn different?
“I COULD REALLY USE GOD RIGHT NOW.”
The irony is that sometimes when we need God the most, it’s as if he refuses to show up. Right when we need all the answers, he refuses to speak. It’s like being on the phone with someone who neither replies nor hangs up. Nothing but silence.
No matter how many hours we spend praying, no matter how many people we seek advice from, no matter how many times we attend mass, go to adoration, or even make Venn diagrams to figure it all out, sometimes it seems like God just doesn’t ANSWER.
WHY?
Maybe we’re too closed to hear the answer so he’s waiting for us to be more open. Maybe he’s waiting for a better time to give us his answer, one that will produce more fruits. Maybe our state of sin is clouding our conscience, preventing us from recognizing the answer. Maybe we’re too busy chatting away to be silent enough to listen. Maybe the answer is so close to us and so obvious that we don’t even realize it.
But the most profound lesson I learned recently is that sometimes God doesn’t answer because the answer is not the point; the answer is irrelevant in comparison to how willing we are to TRUST him right in the midst of uncertainty.
For the longest time I’d been torn about which direction to take my life. I didn’t want to make a decision unless it was in accordance with God’s will, but no matter how much I tried to “discern”, it felt like no answer was coming. I couldn’t understand it. Didn’t God want me to consult his guidance? Why wasn’t he giving it to me?
Finally occurred to me: Maybe the answer wasn’t the point. Maybe he wasn’t giving me direction because he wanted me to take the first step in faith. Maybe he wasn’t answering my questions because I still hadn’t answered his: “Do you trust me?”
THE POINT?
Sometimes God waits for us to trust in him regardless of what his answer may be. Perhaps he’s waiting for us to have the conviction that God will make all things beautiful, even if right now everything seems so ugly. Perhaps he wants us to believe that no matter what decision we make, he’ll carry us through and steer us to the right path.
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
“When you get to the end of the light you know it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown. Faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.” – Edward Teller
Proverbs 3:5-6 // Hebrews 11:1 // Matthew 7:7
WHERE ‘YOU’ COME IN …
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