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Tuesday Morning Epistles
Welcome to "Tuesday Mornings," a source of encouragement
and inspiration for Christian leaders everywhere.
Do you remember the "God is Dead" theorists of the
1960s? They were partly right—someone is
dead, but it is not God. And that "someone" is probably
the army of agnostics whose voices on the subject were
stilled decades ago. But their second cousins are still
around. They are the ones who ask, "If God is alive, why
can't we hear him?" They discount the fact that God
speaks through his Word ... that he speaks through those
who bear witness to the reality of faith ... that he
speaks through his Holy Spirit ... and that God's finest
Voice is the voice of Jesus, the risen Christ.
Are you still with me? Good. Here is a truth to
consider: Sometimes God is silent.
Or at least we perceive him to be silent. These are
times when life's trials and the pressures we face and
the pain we suffer scream so loudly in
our spiritual ears that we have a hard time hearing God
say anything to us. And this poses a question: "What do
we do when God is silent?"
This week's "TM" is entitled, "When God is Silent." It
is attached. Read on below whenever you are ready. Then
prepare for a week in which God will say some things to
you that will be life changing.
This week's "Friday Evenings" and next week's "Tuesday
Mornings" have been postponed a week, due to a family
emergency that requires travel. If God whispers
to you, "Pray for the Barnard's," be sure to obey the
voice.
Tom Barnard
A Senior Encourager
________________________________________________________________ When God Is Silent Tom Barnard
n 1890 M.E. Abbey and Charles Tillman copyrighted their gospel song, “Life’s Railway to Heaven.” It still is sung in concerts and recorded by gospel artists everywhere. The word pictures are vivid, and the metaphors easy to understand. Here are two of the stanzas:
You will roll up grades of trial; you will cross the bridge of strife; See that Christ is your Conductor on this lightning train of life; Always mindful of obstruction, do your duty, never fail; Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.
You will often find obstructions; look for storms of wind and rain; On a fill, or curve, or trestle, they will almost ditch your train; Put your trust alone in Jesus; never falter, never fail; Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.
I’ll tell you what: This is not the picture of a trip I want to take anytime soon! But we all will take journeys like this during our spiritual lifetime, whether we want to or not. Life promises highs and lows, and if we live long enough, we will experience plenty of both.
For some, the hardest struggles in their pilgrimage are the times when God seems to be silent. Prayers reach no higher than the ceiling of the room where they are voiced. Consider these words from Robert L. Wise in his helpful book, When There is No Miracle (Regal Books, 1977, p. 39):
“When our prayers seem to bring nothing but silence from God, it is natural for us to be bewildered. And soon, our apprehensions turn into a sense of deep misgiving. On every side, our doubts nag and nibble away at our self-confidence. We once thought of ourselves as people of strong faith, but now we don’t know whether to believe or not.”
If you think you are the only person who has experienced sleepless nights and worrisome days, think again. People everywhere relate to the frustrations described by Dr. Wise. All of us look for answers to the questions that haunt us. What the author is saying is that millions of people have experienced the same doubts, isolation, and despair that have swept over us. We are not alone.
In 1st Peter 1:6-7 (NLT), the Apostle offered some advice that all of us should take seriously:
“So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
Are you focused primarily on your trials? Have you reached the “bridge of strife?” Have the storms of wind and rain temporarily blinded you? Have you felt like ditching the train you are riding? The words of the song should bring assurance: “Put your trust alone in Jesus; never falter, never fail. Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.” Just because God seems silent and far away, he is as close to you as he has ever been. He is aware of the trials you are facing, and he will see to it that the “heat” you are feeling will only serve to purify you, not destroy you. As Peter said, “Your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.” There’s no news better than this! |