Hennie Symington

Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death … Psalm 13:3

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:35a,37

There comes a time in each of our lives, where we find ourselves lost in a virtual “no-mans-land” of faith. These are the times, when it feels as if there is nothing which can save you from the feeling that there is an insurmountable obstacle between you and the certainty of a God who hears, a God who sees, and a God who answers. What then?

It’s not only the feeling that God is not answering, but that you yourself are unable to turn to God in prayer. When that happens, it’s time to lie low. This is not a time for reckless comments about a God that isn’t there, or that God doesn’t care. Instead, this should be a time of waiting with expectation that God will answer as He has in the past.

This is a time for silence. Perhaps it is the time to visit the gallery of the hopeless and to look to the rows of believers who had lost hope in God: Elijah hiding under the dry brush, Job on the dump heap, David in the cave fleeing for his life, and Jesus calling out on the cross: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”

This silence before God is often the tilling ground for a greater understanding of the depth of your existence and the heights of God’s grace. Trust and believe that you will once more hear the gentle rustle of God’s voice in your life. Accept God’s promise. He will never leave or forsake you, and that you will rise to a new life with Christ as your Saviour. Why? Because God is trustworthy and true.

Prayer: Lord, we know that life is not always a place of healing and happiness. For many it is a nightmare of loss and disappointment. I pray, Lord, that when it is winter in my life, you will send a messenger in the shape of your Word on my path to remind me that you are never far away. Teach me to wait in the belief that you will never leave or forsake me. Amen.