When You Can't See, Can't Hear... Remember!

I hear it a lot.

Things like, "I can't hear God speak."

"I just don't feel His presence."

"I have been asking and asking, but He's not answering me."

Many of us wrestle, at least at times, with seeing the hand of God and hearing the voice of God.

Sometimes when you're in the dark valley it's hard to see what He's doing.

Sometimes He seems silent.

Sometimes He even seems unmoved by our frailty; unaffected by our despair.

But that couldn't be further from the truth.

A look into scripture tells us that we serve a God who is not only filled with compassion, He was MOVED with compassion (Mark 1:41).

Ahh.. proof that His mercy is activated by movement.

And yet sometimes our head can know that, but our heart simply can't catch up.

He still seems silent.

I remember sitting in my "waiting room" during a very challenging season in my life. I had just had surgery and I wasn't recovering as quickly as I would have liked. Days were long, the pain was intense, my daughter had just moved 2000 miles away to attend school for the year, my husband suddenly found himself without work, bills were mounting, and I could feel my heart sink into a sadness I'd never felt before.

One Saturday night I begged God to reveal Himself to me in a brand new way.

I was honest when I got down on my knees and said the words, "God, I need You to speak to me! I need to see You! I need to hear You! I need to feel You!"

And it was as if the Lord, in His kindness, overwhelmed me with these words that pierced my soul. He said, "Sometimes I don't speak, because I've already spoken."

Ahh yes.

There it was.

My honest heart spilled out in honest tears through an honest prayer moved the heart of God to compassion. And it was in that compassion I was able to see Him more clearly than ever before.

He was calling me to remember.

Remember what the Lord had done.

Remember all the times He was faithful.

Remember His steadfast provision.

Remember His goodness and His mercy and His love.

This started a journey for me in keeping track of all the God-moments in my life. Documenting all the ways He's been working. Recording His movement so that when I needed to be reminded... for the times I may forget... I would have these cataloged moments of the times He was so faithful and didn't have to be.

So I want to encourage you today if you find yourself in a challenging situation... a season of waiting... a season of doubt... to focus on all you've seen Him do in the past.

When you can't see Him working...

When you can't hear His voice..

it's wisest for us to REMEMBER what He's done.

He's so kind.

He's so compassionate.

And He beckons us to remember.

Remember His faithfulness.

It really matters and it really changes everything!