When You're Not on Speaking Terms With God
I wrote in a previous article about acknowledging that there is a living and active God in our lives and learning to live with Him in our lives. But, practically, how do we go about living with God? Especially, if we are in seasons where it is easier to accept He’s not actually around. How do we live with a living God, when we still aren’t convinced He is living?
I’m going to take us to the book of Jeremiah, which chronicles the life of Jeremiah, one of the prophets God sent to Israel. God’s message to the people was in relation to their recently filed complaints against Him. They were accusing God of leaving them, of not being there, of failing to speak to them. The Israelites were sinking into the belief that the living God was actually dead, or simply ignoring them.
There can be moments and seasons where God seems absent. He isn’t speaking, He isn’t showing up the way we expected, and He isn’t behaving as we expect. The Israelites were in that season, except as they bemoaned God’s absence in their life, they were ignoring all His messages.
The living God comes to Jeremiah and lays out His case against the Israelites’ accusations:
“This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?” I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.”- Jeremiah 2:5-7
“Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’” -Jeremiah 2:20a
“Why do you bring charges against me? You have rebelled against me,” declares the LORD.” - Jeremiah 2:29
“While you were first doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called to you, but you did not answer.” - Jeremiah 7:13
Although the Israelites complained that God forgot them, God presented the truth. The Israelites turned away from God. They were actively in pursuit of things God declared He has no part of, and He refused to give them the benefits of His blessing, inheritance, and relationship while they continued to live in that rebellion.
“For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backwards and not forwards.” -Jeremiah 7:22-24
“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” Declares the LORD.”- Jeremiah 23:22-23
Learning to live with the living God means learning to listen. “But God hasn’t said anything to me,” you might say. Yes, He has, and it is outlined in His word. The Bible is God’s message to you. Through the Bible, He is always speaking. You may not always have a divine encounter where He speaks directly to you, and that’s okay. He is speaking to you through His word, but if you do not listen and if you do not heed what you hear, He will stop speaking. This is not because He has given up on you, rather, He is waiting, patiently, for you to be ready to listen.
A relationship with the living God starts where all broken relationships start. Reconciliation. Reconciliation involves repentance, humility, and commitment to listen. If you aren’t willing to hear what God wants to say to you, don’t be surprised when you don’t hear from God. Do not be deceived by the lies you have been content to believe. God is living. He is righteous. He is loving. He is speaking. He longs for you. He cares. Are you willing to believe this?
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD.” -Jeremiah 29:13-14a
“They will be my people, and I will be their God.”- Jeremiah 32:38
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” - Jeremiah 33:3
Learning to live with the living God also means learning to obey. What does obeying God entail? Well, God outlined it in Deuteronomy:
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the LORD your God belongs the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set His affection on your ancestors and loved them, and He chose you, their descendants, above all the nations - as it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” -Deuteronomy 10:12-17
How have you been living with the living God? Or trying to live without Him?
Are you willing to meet Him where He invites you?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mia Grace loves sunflowers, words, old hardcover books, and fountain pens. She adores Jesus Christ, and seeks to listen and obey him in her life. Her life verse is Isaiah 52:7, and her prayer is for every girl to grasp the height, weight, depth, width, and power of Christ's love for them.