Bible Study Notes 3 — SOMETIMES GOD IS SILENT
· God is an awesome communicator because He loves talking. He will talk even when nobody is there. In Genesis 1:1, God could have done the whole creation narrative in His mind without ever speaking a word.
· It is not until God came to the creation of Adam that He made the language inclusive: “Let us make man in our image and our likeness.” You are so important. God talked about you before He could ever talk to you.
· In Genesis 3, we witness the fall of man because Adam did not repeat the instructions of salvation (the directives God gave him) to Eve. Many people are falling into sin because you are silent about salvation.
· God does not communicate in just one way. The Bible is God’s unique way of communicating with us. It illustrates how God communicates through covenants, dreams, kings, miracles, parables, prophets, rituals, signs, trances, wonders, and through Jesus.
· Our problem is we do not know how to interpret and deal with silence. When was the last time you drove in your car past three minutes without listening to the radio or talking on the phone? In order to communicate obedience, God will sometimes be silent.
· Many churches are dying because they are caught up on what God said, not on what He is saying. Abraham was a man of faith. If he were a traditional churchman, Isaac would have been killed. Instead, Isaac listened to what God, not man, was saying. Sometimes God will change what he said in the middle of the task to see how keen your listening skills are.
· The reason why God is silent is because you are being tested, and He wants to see if, in the middle of your test, you will remember what He taught you.
· James1:13 states that God tests us but He never tempts us. The devil is a tempter but God is a tester. God tests you to strengthen you, but the devil tempts you to break you.
· John 16:12 There are many things God wants to say to you, but you cannot handle it. If you knew right now that your time on that job was almost over, you would start going to work late. If God told you that your dream house was already prepared for you, you would most likely fall behind on your current rent.
· 1Cor 3:22 Sometimes God is silent because you are still on milk and you cannot digest the deep stuff of God. Therefore, He needs you to mature quickly so He can talk more fluidly.
Hebrew 5:11-12 There are many things God wants to tell you but you are in the slow class. Maybe you are not hearing from God because you are behind schedule on your assignment. You are no longer supposed to be a student in your walk. You ought to be teaching the word of God on your job.
Stop talking and start listening. It is only then that God will be able to teach you and show you where you are suppose to be.