Waiting in Silence

Today is the Saturday between the crucifixion and the Resurrection.  It's a day of quiet waiting.  The online Bible study we have been doing is all about waiting.  We are in a time of waiting during our COVID quarantine.  Today is another day of waiting.  Maybe it doesn't feel like a day any different than the last twenty or so days.  In the days of Jesus this was a day of devastation, a day the disciples thought all hope was lost.  They thought they would never see Jesus or hear Him talk again.  

Imagine you were one of Jesus' followers.  You learned from Him, traveled with Him, and He changed your life.  You had never heard the kinds of things He talked about.  Jesus was always saying things that were very mysterious.  Things you didn't quite always understand.  He told you His time with you would be short.  It didn't scare you because you SAW Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.  You saw Him give sight to the blind man, heal a leper, and give the mute speech.  

But now...it's all over.  You heard Jesus was crucified.  You were too scared to find out for yourself.  You were so scared they were going to come for you too, that you were going to end up on a cross.  You wondered if it had all been worth it if this was how it was all going to end.  Why didn't He save Himself?  Where is God?  Why did He let this happen?  

Back in the present day we live as Easter people.

The first believers didn't know that Easter was coming.  They thought everything was done. The words Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished", were taking literally.  They thought everything was over.  Even though we are Easter people we can relate to how the disciples felt.  We have times in our lives when we think God has stopped working.  Stopped listening.  That our prayers are being sent into a great void.  Many may feel like this right now.  Where is God in this Pandemic?  Does He hear us groaning?  Does He care?  

This Pandemic can make us feel like we are sitting in our own Silent Saturday, and it feels like it is never going to end.   It may feel like you can't hear God.  It can feel like we are trapped between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection and we are waiting.  We are waiting for God to answer us and rescue us from our entrapment.  

  

The Silence of God can break your heart in two.  It can feel like your world has been turned upside down.  Silent  Saturday teaches us the importance of God being silent.  This day God was working on huge, monumental things we probably will never understand.  God was doing His things even though it seemed He was nowhere in sight.  Are you there?  Is this Pandemic making it hard for you to see what God is doing?  Are you afraid you won't make it to the other side?

We don't now what it will be like on the other side of COVID.  We will survive and be able to look back at this time in our lives.  How can I be certain of this?  Silent Saturday is my proof.  God is working in the silence.  We can already see little miracles that show He is working and will continue working in our strife.  He will make a way to the other side.  We are in a post-crucifixion, pre-Easter moment.  It is a moment when all can seem lost, that evil has won.  

Let's challenge ourselves to sit in this place.  To sit in this place and see God.  Let's not wait to look back and see Him when this over, let's see Him now.  Let's see Him in our Silent Saturday.  In the Easters of our lives, those top of the mountain days we can see God so clearly.  But I guarantee that when we start to see Him in our Silent Saturdays, our relationship with Him will grow by leaps and bounds.  So let's find God in our now!!  

The more our relationship grows with God the more we can trust and rely on His plan.  We need Him in our lives NOW.  A storm has hit and we may be treading water so we need God's power to stand up on the waves and walk on.  We know that Jesus will claim victory.  He does on Easter, and He will with this Pandemic.  The night may be dark and hard but the morning will come.  We have to rely on what we know about God.  He is good.  He is faithful.  He is true.  We can take that to the bank.  It allows us to stand up in the storm and not be blown over.  This is how we become unshakable.  

We look beyond what we can see in the future and we believe.  Easter wasn't possible without Good Friday.  Suffering and hardship is part of our lives, God told us it would be.  But the God who told us that is not the God of Good Friday.  He is the God of the Resurrection.  

So today, and for the rest of our COVID journey, we remember the silence of God.  Let this be a unbelievable opportunity to grow the intimacy of your relationship with God.  Let God grow your faith to heights you never knew possible.  Choose to trust God despite your fear. Choose to trust God even though you don't understand what is going on.  Don't confuse silence with inactivity.  Don't let that trap of Satan get a hold on you.  Satan wants you to feel lost, confused, fearful, and locked away.  Just because we are being kept in our homes don't be inactive.  Be active in opening your eyes to the presence and movement of God. 
God is on the move!!! (Click for awesome song)

Mayhem

Have you seen these commercials?  They are just so funny!  (Click to watch) You just have to laugh when you watch them.  This is one of my favorites.  The new ones with Tina Fey are especially funny to me, but I get a kick out of them all.  They show us that mayhem is everywhere.  A teenager texting, the storm blowing a tree on your house, the lawn mower getting hit by lightening (oh wait that is Farmer's but same diff 😜), the list goes on and on.  I like chaos in my commercials, I do not like it in my life.  

There will be times in life: when everything seems hopeless, when we can't escape our reality, when we wonder if God really cares 😠😭😵.  Mark 4:35 has the disciples asking "Don't you care if we drown?"  Have you been there before?  Terrified over what's happening (or not) in your life.  Do you find yourself crying out to the Lord, "where are you? why won't you help me? do you not even care about me?"  

Take heart! 💕 The disciples, that lived with Jesus, felt the same way.  Their lesson is the same as ours.  Jesus is always in control!  God is big enough to see you through any storm life throws at you!  

BIG QUESTION!

Do you have the faith to trust God in the storm? ☔⚡🌀 Read Mark 4:35-37.

I think their scenario fits our lives perfectly.  We've had a long day.  We are ready to be away from the people we work with.  We are ready to rest.  We make plans to have a nice quiet dinner with our families or friends.  But we walk in the front door and our plans are interrupted by a storm.  Not some small storm, but a storm that will toss us about and slam us to the ground.  We begin to sink...

Interrupted Plans

Interrupted plans come in a million disgusting flavors! 🍦👿💀

🍦your health does not allow you to do the things you want

🍦you worked hard to get ahead and one bad thing led to another and now you are broke

🍦maybe a surprise baby changed what the rest of your life looked like

🍦your spouse died, and you are alone 

🍦your marriage doesn't turn out the way you planned

🍦a fire sweeps through your life and leaves you with nothing

When smooth sailing turns into rough water we start to have some irrational thoughts.  Have I done something wrong?  Is God mad, doesn't He care anymore?  Why is God letting this bad thing happen to me.  Be encouraged! God is not mad at you.  We all face storms in life. (I have faced several in the above list.)  We forget who was in the boat with the disciples.  Jesus was in the boat.  The storm still came.  They were still bounced around, soaked and scared.  Jesus was with them, and He is with us too!  Even in the midst of the storm.

When anyone tells you that if you follow Jesus you will not experience troubles, suffering or pain; THEY ARE LYING!  Recall from the last blog who the Father of lies is.  Mayhem is coming!!! Storms are coming!!! Make sure Jesus is your insurance.  Jake from State Farm might have nice khakis but he is not enough.  Make sure Jesus is in your boat!
Remember the theme song from Gilligan's Island. Well here it is if you don't: theme song.  When this is your theme song, be sure to make Christ the Lord of your worries, doubts, and fears!!!
In the comments I would love to here your stories.  Times when you thought for certain you were going to drown only to emerge miraculously.  Tell me how God came through for you!!!

Here is our song for the week: Even If by Mercy Me

Unshakeable

UNSHAKABLE

Do you write your thoughts, prayers or even your deep dark secrets in a journal?  I do.  Actually I have several.  Truth be told I write things everywhere.  If only I could remember where I wrote it 😅.  We tease my Grandma because she writes things on little sticky notes and leaves them all over.  I guess that is where I get it.  Thanks Grams!!

King David records his most intimate thoughts in the Psalms.  Psalm 16 has David journaling a declaration that God is his Lord and he relies on him for everything.  This is so profound when we think about the life of David.  David is the King, the king that God hand-picked.  He was dealing with wars, way too many wives, rebelling children and it seemed people were always trying to kill him.  In verse 2 he lays it all before 

God.  He held on to what was most important - his relationship his King! 

King David knew that God had a plan for his life even through things that seemed chaotic.  Even when he screwed things up miserably.  My son Dylan's confirmation verse is Jeremiah 29:11.

Of course, David did not have this verse, but I think he knew the concept in his heart.  We are in a similar  place as David.  We are living through trials and tribulations that often feel like we have to kill a giant.  But I trust, I truly trust, that when we make God a priority he provides miracles!

Sisters, we must declare like David, "God is at my right, I will not be shaken!"  UNSHAKABLE!!! What a powerful word.  God is with us and will always love us 💖💖💖.  This allows us to live the truth that we are unshakable wholeheartedly.  

Of course this doesn't mean that we have a lack of hardships in our lives.  This world is broken and

it causes us pain.  Unshakable means that, because of God, we are equipped to face whatever life throws at us.  The equipping happens when we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and nothing else.  Not our wants, desires, pains, disappointments or anything else.  When we can truly declare "thy will be done" - unshakable exists.  God gives us the power to overcome, excel and exceed.  If you don't believe it, try it!  There is no better time to find out than this very minute.  

Why this very minute?  Because there is a lion waiting to devour you!!! 1 Peter 5:8

If you know a lion is about to attack you, what do you do?  Here is a cool site to help you do just that: How to Survive a Lion Attack

I changed it up a bit to be a good guide for us to deal when the devil attacks us.  Here we go:

1) DO NOT PANIC!  If you're being charged, you will be extremely frightened.  (I have been in this spot so many times and I know that I did not always take this advice.)  Do everything you can not to panic.  Pray, recite scripture, and stay calm.  The devil won't be expecting that.  Knowing what to expect from the devil can help you to stay calm.  The Bible tells us a lot about the devil and all his little secrets.  It's like we have read his journal.  One example of this is that the devil is the father of lies. (John 8:44)  If we know he is going to lie to us we will not trust a word he has to say.

2) STAND YOUR GROUND! Do not run.  You need to take charge of the situation.  Jesus does not run from the devil when he is tempted in the desert.  Show the devil you are a threat.  Then sing praises, recite verses, pray right in his face.  Do these things at the top of your lungs if you need to.  Be like the women in the movie "War Room" and kick the devil out of your house.  

3) DON'T TURN YOUR BACK!  Keep singing, keep praying, keep reading your Bible.  If you stop, the devil may sense your fear and chase after you.  Remain threatening at all times.  

4)  BE PREPARED!  We certainly know who the bad guy is.  The devil is always watching and will charge again.  When he attacks give him everything you got again.  From the depths of your soul use all the tools the Holy Spirit has given you.  

David's life and our lives are not simply guided by things in the earthly realms.  There are things affecting us that we cannot see or touch.  We press forward despite these things so that someday we will transition to the glory God has promised.  There is nothing worth giving up our seats in the eternal kingdom.  Nothing worth giving up our crowns.  We are children of God, He has a plan to prosper us, give us hope and a delightfully undeserved future.  Do not let anyone stand in the way of this!  Fulfill the promise God has for your life.  Remember David's words:  Always keep your eyes on the Lord, He is at your right hand, YOUR ARE UNSHAKABLE!!!

Check out this video for a little inspiration!