THE SILENCE OF GOD

Hellooo…is anybody out there?

Have you ever had that feeling with God?

Just when you need Him the most, He seems to be MIA – a silent sky answers your desperate prayers.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Last week, I took a self-imposed break from Blog Land. It was my anniversary gift to my husband. We actually ended up going out of town camping. No cell phone service, no landlines, no Internet, no television – no distractions.

It was a *dream-come-true* for my mountain man husband. Truthfully, it was a dream come true for me, too. Just the two of us, a tent, a couple of camp chairs – and the beauty of God’s creation.

God had many things to say to me.

But, the thing I loved the most about my time away in the mountains was what I always love about my time away in the mountains.

I can hear God.

I feel Him as if He's sitting right next to me. His thoughts bubble up in my spirit – independently of my own thought processes. He makes me wonder and ponder – He makes me feel whole and peaceful.

He's close…

…and He's talking.

It was a lovely time. With my husband, and with my Lord. I did NOT want to come home off the mountaintop.

Down here, I am surrounded by my *real life.* You know – the one that is full of bills and doctors and car problems and a host of other "real-life" problems. The life that is full of struggles and troubles.

The life that dismays me, and waylays me.

The life that crowds me – the life that seems to so often steal my peace.

Down here, I can't hear God as often or as clearly as I do when I'm in the sanctuary of His creation.

It bugs me – I need Him in the "lowlands" more than I do when I'm away. I need His voice and His presence when life's noise volume gets turned up.

And yet, He seems silent.

"Where are You??" I cry out in despair.

You know what? God hasn't moved. He's the same God at home as He is when I'm away from home.

And here's what He taught me.

It isn't that God is silent in my "real life."

It's that I am not.

I don't take the time to stop and be quiet. I don't take the time to stop and listen. I don't take the time to stop…

Yes, I do my quiet time every day – but more often than not (true confession time) – it's kinda sandwiched in between other "important" stuff.

In the mountains, I have nothing else to do but sit – and read – and pray – and ponder. No wonder God can speak to me! I'm actually sitting still and waiting on Him…

On my last night in the mountains, God and I had a little conversation. It went something like this:

"Lord, why can't I hear Your voice when I'm at home?"

"You can…if you listen. I'm always speaking. Are you always listening?"

"Oh."

"Come back home and I'll take care of you there, too."

"But, I can't hear You there the same way."

"I'll talk louder."

I smiled – I'm pretty sure He did, too.

God isn't silent.

It's just hard to talk to one little woman who isn't. Who desperately needs to be quiet so she can hear…

…the still, small Voice that is always talking.

(Linked today with Wendy at Faith's Firm Foundation)

(ANNOUNCEMENT: I may not be posting every day. At least for a few weeks. I'm not quite done listening to Him speak – and I need the time. So, tentatively, I'm planning to take Tuesdays and Thursdays off. But, I'm still dedicated to keeping up with my blogging – it's one of the most special ways that God speaks to me here in my "real life.")

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"