Seven Negatives That God Can Make Into Positives (Part VII)

Hello my friends. Today we will conclude our teaching on Seven Negatives That God Can Turn Into Positives. We have already considered the first six which are temptation, failure, discipline, trials and suffering, walking in humility, and being stretched out of our comfort zone. The seventh and final one is...

VII. Season of God’s Silence

Let me share with you just one more thing that seems very negative at the time but that God can transform into something good. Have you ever gone through a season when God has been silent? A time when you didn’t get any answer to your prayers or sense his direction in any way? Have you ever experienced a time when you just could not understand what God was up to? If you have, then you know what I’m talking about. Those are trying and difficult times. But, even during these times God can bring something good out of it.

I am persuaded that it is during those times that you can really learn how to trust God. It forces you to walk by faith and not by sight – not because you necessarily want to, but often because you don’t have any other choice. This is the very definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) tells us that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Many of us would like God to pull back the curtain and allow us to see what is going to take place in the future. We think that this would provide us with peace and assurance rather than the uncertainty of the unknown. But the overwhelming majority of the time God doesn't do that. As I thought about this it began to make sense. If he showed us everything ahead of time where would the faith be? The only way that you can learn to trust God is by doing what he tells you to do right now, even when you don’t understand why you are doing it or what God will eventually accomplish through it. That's what God did with Abraham. In Genesis 12:1 (NIV) we read, "The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." Just like he did with Abraham God tells us where we should go and what we should do and asks us to simply trust him to take care of everything that follows. And God is completely trustworthy. He always has our best interest at heart. Someone once said, “When I don’t see his hand, I can still trust his heart.” During those times when God is silent he simply wants to see if we will trust him and obey him anyway.