I love the times when God is speaking and showing me things about Himself – there is nothing better than that. Times like that are wonderful times and seasons in God. I wish I could live in those seasons for eternity. But just as there are seasons on earth – there are also seasons in the spirit.
Most of us would love to have spring or summer all year round. However, winter is also necessary. It is part of the seasons of life.
Without winter, summer wouldn’t be so appreciated. Without winter, you wouldn’t know how wonderful the warmth of the sun feels on your skin in the middle of July. Without winter, you would not know the difference. If you had summer all year round, you would simply begin to take it for granted. So it is in the seasons of God.
I received an email once from one of our readers who was frantic because she felt God and His presence had left her. She had repented and cried out to God but it seemed He was nowhere to be found.
She had found, as we all do at one time or another, that there are times when God is not speaking to you – when God seems far away – when God seems to have departed from you. There are times when God is silent.
Isaiah once declared ‘surely you are a God who hides yourself.’ David and Job both cried out ‘why do you hide your face from me?’ The Jewish people called this the Mask of Yahweh. When God hides His face.
Does He hide His face because He is mad at you? Does He hide His face because you have sinned or disappointed Him? Has He departed from you? No, absolutely not. The word of God says that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Therefore if God departed from you He would be breaking His word and He never goes against His word.
I think you can find a great deal of insight about this side of God in the Song of Solomon. In the Song of Solomon, we find she was seeking the One whom her soul loved and He kept eluding her. When God hides His face it is for a purpose, He longs for you to seek Him out. It will often feel like a dry and empty place but if you will press into God, you will find Him in a way you have never known Him before.
Several months ago, God spoke something to me that I didn’t understand; He said ‘in my silence you will find my glory.’ When He spoke this to me, it was at a time when I was hearing from God daily and was experiencing a wonderful time in His presence – it was a great season. Then it changed and I walked through a winter season with God. It was quiet and silent and dry and I didn’t hear from God for a long period of time. It felt like the quiet and cold middle of winter.
If that wasn’t bad enough, things – challenging times began to hit my life – one after another – I felt I desperately needed to hear from God and I cried out to hear Him but all I received was silence.
I could have allowed that silence to stop me – but I didn’t – I chose instead to press in to God – to find Him into the silence – to find Him in the darkness – I knew if I could find Him that He would illuminate my path and I could find my way out of that season. I pressed. I didn’t once think that God was mad at me or had left me – I had been this way before. Instead I knew to pursue Him – to seek for the one whom my soul loved – and I did. I found Him in the silence. And in that silence I found a great peace. That peace began to invade my life until I knew I had found Him.
In the silence, seek Him. In the silence, press into Him. Get your mind of your challenges and get your mind on God. Remember, we are kept in perfect peace…when our mind is stayed upon Him and we trust in Him.
He is right there – in the silence – when it seems dark – when you feel alone – when you wonder if you messed up – when you feel you are lost – He is there – waiting on you to pursue Him. Waiting on you to find Him and knowing that you will. He knows you won’t quit until you find Him – He knows you can’t stop until you find the One your soul loves…and then His mask comes off. And you will behold Him face to face. When you behold Him, you will know, winter has passed and spring has come.
