feeling alone

a silent season

Posted on by Grace Day

Job felt it – God’s silence, a silence Job equated with God’s absence. Job’s complaint against God was this –

“Even today my complaint is bitter; His hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. If only I knew where to find Him; if only I could go to His dwelling! . . . But if I go to the east, He is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find Him. When He is at work in the north, I do not see Him; when He turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of Him.” (Job 23:1-3 & 8-9)

Sounds to me like Job was pretty discouraged. Yet even during Job’s experience of a silent season, Job maintained hope. How do I know this? Well, Job’s very next words after his complaint regarding God’s elusiveness or apparent evasiveness were these –

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

Even though at the time, Job said he couldn’t see God, couldn’t find God, couldn’t feel God’s presence with him, Job acknowledged that God had not lost track of him. Job’s words reveal that even in the silence, Job trusted God. Job trusted that God knew right where he was and that God knew all that Job was going through during his silent, lonely, painful season.

But Job is by no means the only person to experience a silent season in relation to God just when circumstances are particularly dire. Habakkuk was someone who could perhaps identify with Job’s circumstances and someone who was also unwilling to give up on God. During the worst of times, Habakkuk had this to say –

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

I want to be more like Job and Habakkuk. I want to trust God and to praise God, no matter what my circumstances might be on any given day or in any given season of my life. My earthly circumstances are constantly changing, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. I cannot count on my circumstances to give me peace or joy or hope or anything that I need. BUT – God doesn’t change. Therefore, I can count on God. I have this assurance –

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

So even in this silent season, I can know that God has not abandoned me. I can know what King David knew and expressed so well in these words when he said –

“O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord. . . . Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:1-4 & 7-10)

Even in the silence, even when I feel all alone, even when life is unbearably painful, I know that God is here with me. As King David said, there is no place I can go from His Spirit. God is omnipresent and He promised this to me and to you, too, dear readers –

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

God also said –

“I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15)

During a silent season, it is easy for me to become discouraged and to feel alone, unseen and unheard. Hagar was someone who felt this way when she ended up alone in the desert. BUT she was not alone and she was not invisible to God. God met her there and gave her hope and a future with these words –

“You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.” (Genesis 16:11)

And fun fact – the name Ishmael means “God hears”. Hagar had a name for God after her desert encounter with Him –

“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ ” (Genesis 16:13)

When we are in a silent season, isn’t what we each want more than anything else is to know that we are seen and we are heard and that we are not alone? It can be hard to hold onto hope during the silence but God’s word reassures you and me that we are never beyond His notice, nor His watchful care –

” ‘Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24)

“But now, this is what the Lord says – . . . ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you;’ ” (Isaiah 43:1-5)

And in the end, God gave up His only Son, Jesus, for me and for you, for all who would believe on His name.

In every silent season it is God’s Word that keeps me company, guides me, sustains me, protects me and brings me safely through. He will do the same for you. We are never alone, even in our silent seasons.

sincerely, Grace Day

company, courage and comfort in the chaos

Posted on by Grace Day

Ever feel overwhelmed with the demands of daily life? Ever feel unseen and unheard? Ever feel invisible and alone? Perhaps this describes the human condition in our modern world – a world where cyberspace competes with real life spaces and AI competes with reality. Too many people today feel anxious and isolated amid the chaos of these turbulent times. But it’s not just in our modern era that we humans often feel alone and overwhelmed by the chaos of events. Job experienced much chaos, loss, uncertainty, fear etc. and yet he had both comfort and hope while engulfed in chaos because Job knew God would never abandon him. In fact, when Job’s circumstances appeared hopelessly dire, Job said this –

“But He (God) knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

Job did not believe satan’s lie that he was unseen, unheard and alone. Job believed that God saw him, was with him and would bring him through his devastating circumstances into a better time and place. This belief was the hope that sustained Job during his season of turmoil, loss and grief. During his ordeal, Job often complained that he couldn’t find God or hear God or feel God’s presence. Job wondered aloud where God was. Yet even though Job felt he had lost track of God, Job still acknowledged that God hadn’t lost track of him, saying “But He knows the way that I take . . .”

Reminds me of what Jesus told His disciples about God’s ever vigilant watch care over each and every one of us –

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

The NLT translation says that a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground “without your Father knowing it.” What a comforting, if unfathomable truth! God watches over and keeps track of all living creatures, so He is most certainly watching over you and me, especially since God created us in His very own image. God will not forget about us or lose track of us. The prophet Isaiah says this about my Heavenly Father-

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.” (Isaiah 49:15-16)

When life is chaotic and I, like Job, am feeling forgotten and unseen by God, I can know that despite appearances, I am not forgotten. My name is engraved on His palms and He knows “the way that I take.”

God’s ever-present presence is my comfort and my hope amid the chaos of this world. When I feel alone, unnoticed, unseen, unheard – knowing there is One, my Heavenly Father, who is with me, who does see me, hear me and watch over me – this brings me the peace and the courage I need to weather the storm. The same is true for you, too, dear readers. God sees you, hears you, and abides with you wherever you are and wherever you go. King David knew this to be true. He wrote about his experience in this Psalm –

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.” (Psalm 139:7-12)

and in another Psalm –

“He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:3-8)

Daniel’s three friends experienced God’s company, courage and comfort when they were thrown into the chaos of the king’s furnace as a punishment for their refusal to worship the king’s image of gold. God was with them in that literal furnace. He kept them company and delivered them unharmed from that chaos. They were not burned. They didn’t even smell like smoke! God’s presence surely gave them all they needed. His peace, comfort, protection, hope and courage sustained them in that life threatening environment of the furnace.

God’s presence provided the same things to the Israelites as they traveled from Egypt to their promised land. It was God’s presence that brought them safely through the chaos of the Red Sea, of their desert wanderings and the chaos of the battles that were necessary for them to fight, in order to conquer their enemies and enter into their promised land.

Today, God’s abiding presence keeps me company in the chaos, comforts me and gives me the courage I need in order to emerge victorious from the chaos that surrounds, much like the three emerged victorious from their furnace. I am not alone in the chaos! This is good news. I have the promise of God’s word which says clearly that He will never leave me. This promise is for you, too, dear readers. You are not alone in your chaos. The God who knows when a sparrow falls is watching over you and me. And He never falls asleep on the job! So, take heart! Jesus said –

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

our instructions – God’s promise –

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. . . . The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8)

sincerely, Grace Day