'Why is God Not Speaking to Me?': John 11:1-14 (Patience)

Read Galatians 5:22-23:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Are you ready to make an investment in the Fruit of Patience?

Read John 11:1-14:

"Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

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How upset do you imagine Martha and Mary were when Jesus did not show up to heal their brother; when Jesus allowed their brother to die?

In all honesty, how frequently do you feel that Jesus does not speak to you, answer your prayers or show up when you need Him most?

Go to 'DOCUMENTS' and read Oswald Chambers observations on John 11.

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Oswald writes: "Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life?

Like Martha and Mary, is there a circumstance in your life right now where Jesus has not showed up as you hoped for or expected?

Oswald continues: "His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation."

How much do you believe that God's silence and absence is actually His way of trusting you with an even greater revelation of His power, goodness and faithfulness?

Oswald states: "For a while you may have said, “I asked God to give me bread, but He gave me a stone instead” (see Matthew 7:9). He did not give you a stone, and today you find that He gave you the “bread of life” (John 6:35)."

Later in John 11, we see Mary and Martha's tears turned to wonder and gratitude. Jesus arrives and reveals a greater demonstration of His Father's goodness and power, His ability to raise the dead.

How might God be using His silence and absence to bless you with His 'bread of life'?

Write your answer in the space provided.

Oswald writes: "If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes."

Take a moment to praise God for not only trusting you, but for including you, like Mary and Martha, in His intimate plans and purposes.

You can do so privately, or in the space provided.

Oswald concludes: "A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious— it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, “I know that God has heard me.” His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy— silence".

How important is it for Jesus to glorify His Father?

Describe the difference between the prayers and actions you take that are intended to glorify God verses those that are intended to serve your own purposes?

How much has this Trail increased the fruit of patience in your current circumstances?