- Joshua 7
- Psalms 89:1-15
- Proverbs 13
- Acts 17
Does God seem silent and unavailable to you? You cry out in prayer and your prayers bounce of the ceiling.
Where is God? Why does he feel so far away? This was the case of the people of Athens in Acts 17. God had was foreign and distant to them. In fact, they built an alter to this silent god.
Acts 17:22-23 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
An unknown god is distant with no definition and no interaction. He is unresponsive and unavailable. He is a name and a concept but nothing else. No relationship can be had with an unresponsive god. Oh, if the people of Athens would only know the vitality and life and love that can be experienced through a relationship with the God of heaven. Paul said that “…his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.” (Acts 17:16) Paul knew the joy of a real dynamic relationship with the Lord Jesus and he knew that sin was creating the barrier that made God seem “unknown.” God can be known and he can be experienced if we will break down the barriers that we have built.
So often the feeling that you have an unknown and distant god has more to do with you and much less with God. The sense of a distant God can come from many things in your life: sin, distractions, and lack of communication can create a wall between you and the Lord.
The Israelites demonstrated this situation many times in the scripture. In the Bible reading for today, Joshua is leading the people and taking over the Promised Land. Being near to the Lord and maintaining a close relationship with him is necessary at all times, and it becomes especially needful when you are facing a trial. In Joshua 7 Israel has sinned. They have gone against the word of the Lord and decided that they knew better than God.
God was very present in their lives yet they were acting like he was unknown – they decided to walk against him and do what they felt was best for them. In essence they silenced God.
Proverbs 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
Pride is the root behind resisting God’s ways. It is assuming you know better and believing that God is wrong. Isn’t it interesting that we will silence God by doing things our way, and then wonder why he feels so distant when we try to talk to him? When you decide to act like you have an unknown god, don’t be surprised when it feels like you have been forsaken. You are the one that built the separation.
Joshua 7:11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
Joshua 7:13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
Joshua 7:19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
If you feel like God has forsaken you, is it possible that there is an “accursed thing in the midst of thee.” Get that accursed thing away from you, get rid of that sin and break down the wall that separates you and your wonderful God. God is not going to break down a barrier that you built with sin. Turn, repent, change and return to Jesus. Have you silenced God so that you can do things your way? Have you decided to act like you serve an unknown god?
For certain, God is always good and he has promised that he will never leave you. Your sensitivity to him is what has dulled and caused the sense that he is no longer present in your life.
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
God is there and ready to rejoin the relationship. When you turn, he will be UNKNOWN no longer.
HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH GOD:
Lord, do I feel like you are distant and unavailable?
Lord, when have I created a barrier between you and me by doing things my own way?
Lord, is there an “accursed” thing (sin) in me that I am holding on to?
Lord, I know you are always with me. Help me to break down the barriers that are making you feel unknown.
-D. Salmans
Glory, Strength, & Beauty 