Silence

There are times, I believe, in every Christian's life when God seems silent. Sometimes it may be due to our disobedience, perhaps our busyness, other times our own noise. And other times, God seems silent for reasons beyond our understanding. There are times in our life that God speaks very clearly to us and we know His voice has spoken above the crowd and the commotion, but it’s the times of silence that can be most trying.

The past few years, we have seen God moving, guiding and directing us through our call to ministry in Hungary. He spoke clearly to us about coming to Hungary. Even in my questioning and testing, He was very clear in His answer to us. Even in times where His voice could not be distinctly heard, we could see His hand moving in our lives - His Provision, His Power, and His Presence.

The past few months have been difficult for Jonathan and me. Most difficult has been God’s mysterious silence in our lives. The trials and challenges of missionary life are not exaggerated or imagined by any stretch. The persecution and warfare we experience is very real. We can feel the spiritual oppression that has waged war in Hungary. As we struggle to sense God’s secure grasp around us during these difficult times, sometimes there is a feeling of abandonment. We know in our hearts that God has not abandoned us, but our minds rage battle against our beliefs.
Tonight as I search for some piece of Hope in the Scriptures, I was brought upon a passage underlined years ago in my Bible.

Isaiah 58:8-9
“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help and he will say: Here am I”

God has not left us alone in Hungary. He doesn’t leave us alone anywhere for that matter. He will answer are call to Him. He has been there all along.

Coincidently, following this time of devotion, I picked up the iPod to listen to some inspiration tune. The song that began playing immediately was Todd Agnew’s “Shepherd”.

It is my prayer. That God will hear his weary sheep and His sheep will hear His voice. Here are the lyrics that spoke to my heart tonight…

Shepherd, Your sheep are weary
Cold and tired, battered and bruised and torn
Shepherd, Your sheep are hungry
We got what we wanted but we still need something more

We need to hear Your voice
Whatever You might say
We just need to hear Your voice
Show us the way

Shepherd, Your sheep are lost
We chased our wants that we thought were needs
Now we can't get home
Shepherd, Your sheep are longing
We ate and we ran, we played and
we danced, but we're empty

We need to hear Your voice
Whatever You might say
We just need to hear Your voice
Show us the way

Shepherd, these sheep are Yours
We tried to be king, but we
don't want to anymore

Listening Carefully,
Corinne

Swimming With the Sharks

This past weekend our family went for a visit to a local "Tropicarium". There were monkeys and birds, alligators and snakes, and many sea creatures. They had a large tank with a tunnel which you could walk through that made you feel as though you were in the bottom of the ocean. Inside there were several moderately sized sharks. I have to admit, every time I see a shark up close I realize how very impressive they are. Generally speaking, these encounters do not encourage me to go swimming anywhere near the ocean. It does seem silly to fear such a minor threat, but none the less, the fear is there.

I suppose in life there are many more things we could justify fearing. Carter is more than happy to share with us at bedtime all his various fears. Dinosaurs outside the window, lions in the closet, strangers peering in from the dark....his imagination can run wild. The truth is, I have real fears too. Not of dinosaurs or creatures under my bed, but fears like "failure," "disappointment," "conflict" or "pain". Often in my Christian walk, I find these fears have been the sole reason for my lack of action in the cause for Christ.

As often does, God taught me a lesson through a simple conversation with Carter about one of his fears. He was sharing with us about his fear of the dark one night on the way home in the car. "You don't have to fear anything, Carter..." I told him "because Jesus is always with us and helps us to not be afraid."

Do I live like I have nothing to fear? That isn't to say I want to go swimming with the sharks, but I do know that Christ offers us peace and security even in times of fear and that He empowers us with courage through the Holy Spirit to go boldly into the world.

Acts 4:31 "...And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."