I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love even when I don’t feel it.
I believe in God even when He is silent.
These three lines were scratched into the wall of a German concentration camp during World War two. In the midst of the horror, someone declared their faith in the God that did not answer the way they thought He would.
How do you believe in something you can’t see or experience?
- I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining because I have already seen its light and felt its warmth.
- I believe in love even when I don’t feel it because I have already been embraced by its light and felt its warmth.
- I believe in God even when He is silent because I have already seen the light and knelt in His presence.
Where do you turn in the silence?
When life is easy we all find it easy to rest in the Lord. I can easily trust in the God of comfort and ease. But when life is challenging many of us find ourselves challenging God. “Why have you treated me this way God?”
In those times resting in the Lord becomes, wrestling with the Lord. What is the answer? Where do we turn in the dark coldness of silence? We turn to the same place we found light and warmth in the past, we turn to His Word.
How is it possible to rest in the Lord?
Resting in the Lord requires knowing the Lord intimately, personally. It means I know the Lord as I would know my spouse or my best friend, or perhaps knowing Him even better.
But I will only know Him intimately as I study His Word. This is the hard part about spiritual growth, it requires actual Bible study. The temptation for most of us believers is to listen to great sermons or teachers, read books written by good people, sing our favorite songs, talk to our friends about God and go to the best church in town instead of spending time reading our Bibles. But, listen to me – there is no substitute for actually reading the Bible itself!
Remember, in order to REST I must trust. To trust fully, most of the time and for most of us, I must know the one I am trusting in well.
Rest in His Word
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. – Palm 119:105
The passage is so familiar I am afraid that we breeze too quickly by it without pausing to think about the implications.
“Your Word…”
The Psalmist is not referring to just any word, but the Word of God, the Bible. The Psalmist wants us to be very sure we understand exactly what he is talking about. This is not a statement about the latest Christian book or worship song, but a statement, or a promise if you will, concerning the Word of God, the Bible.
“is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
The Bible lights my path. In the darkness of silence (I only need a lamp or a light when I am in the darkness) the Bible is my light. In those times when God does not answer as I think He should, in those times when the heavens seem silent, I can trust the Word of God to show me the way.
Even when heaven is silent, the Word of God speaks.
The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130
The Word of God studied or unfolded, gives light and understanding.
One of the problems we all face with God’s silence in the face of our pain or suffering is that innate human desire for an explanation. The great “Why?” dominates our thinking in times of stress, silence, and darkness.
The unfolding of Scripture gives understanding, or to put it another way, it answers the “why?” Sometimes the answer is hard to hear, and sometimes it is not an answer we like, but the Word of God gives understanding of our circumstances and of the God of our circumstances.
On more than one occasion when God was silent I found myself drawn to Romans 8:28.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28
In the cold silence I found warmth in the light of His Word.
In this world we will have tribulation, and in our tribulation God is sometimes silent in that He doesn’t seem to answer our prayers the way we believe He should. In those moments what do we do? We rest in the Word. The Word, not our feelings, is the light for our path. Our “Why?” is answered in His Scriptures not in our logic or reasoning.
To rest in the Word is to relax knowing the Word of God and the God of the Word are both true. Rest, read, and refresh your spirit with the words of your Creator.