In many of our spiritual struggles, it seems as if our pleas with God go unheeded.
One fall day, the pressures of life seemed to encroach increasingly upon me, and God appeared to be a bit hearing impaired. The wind blew briskly, and the leaves swirled. I looked up and said, “God, you control the wind. Can you not control my circumstances?”
A few minutes later, the Lord spoke. In my mind's eye, I saw a conversation between me and Him. He said, “Did you see the wind?”
I answered, “Yes, I saw the leaves blowing.”
Curiously, He asked the same question again: “Did you see the wind?”
I answered, “Yes, I saw the tree limbs swaying.”
A third time the Lord spoke, and it was as if He were saying, “Read my lips.”
God repeated the same question, but this time I got the message. It was one of those “Aha” moments.
The movement of God’s Spirit—like the wind—though unobservable, always accomplishes its intended purpose. When we place our petitions before Him but don't observe anything around us—or the circumstances get worse—we assume God is not answering our prayers. Things often have to get worse before they get better.
The Holy Spirit can be active, yet unseen and silent. When I questioned the Lord's management of my problems, I treaded on shaky ground. I was saying God either didn't care or wasn’t able to do anything about it. I questioned two of the character traits of God: His goodness and His omnipotence.
There was one further exchange between me and the Lord. He said, “You, the finite, might want to be a little more careful when talking about One who is infinite.”
He was graciously saying I shouldn’t talk about what I didn’t understand. My reply: “Yes, Sir.
Like the wind, the moving of God’s Spirit is discerned by its effects—not by direct observation. Ask God to help you see it.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Ken Barnes has had a twenty-five year career in educational pursuits. He has taught in various public and private schools in Pennsylvania, Hawaii, and Virginia. He also worked for seventeen years with Youth With A Mission as a school leader, recruiter, and director. Ken holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the author of The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places. He currently is a speaker, blogger, and freelance writer. Ken lives with his wife Sharon in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Visit Ken at https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/