22220.046 God’s “Silent Treatment”

When calamity overtakes you like a storm, and disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you, then they will call to Me but I will not answer; they will look for Me but will not find Me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. (Proverbs 1:27-31)

Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm. (Proverbs 1:33)

It’s called the “natural consequence method of discipline.” It works this way. You warn a person that if he drinks and then drives, he is going to be arrested for driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages (DUI). He refuses to listen to the warning. He is arrested for DUI. He calls you and asks you to bail him out of jail. You refuse. “Maybe a night in the slammer would teach him a lesson,” you say.

“That would be really mean,” some would say. “That would be really loving,” others might say. Any temporary affliction designed to terminate a more destructive pattern of behavior can hardly be unloving. The book of Hebrews says that, “The Lord disciplines those He loves and punishes everyone He accepts as a son” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

Principle: God has perfect hearing, but He has a sudden attack of “hearing impairment” when those who choose not to hear His wise, loving counsel close their ears to it.

There is one surefire way to get God’s ear to hear your pleas for help: repent and “listen up!”

The other side of the deafness coin is blessing—to the extent that we listen to and obey God’s law—there are rich blessings to enjoy! A Jewish friend and national radio show host was not all that observant to the laws of God. He was the epitome of a “secular Jew”. As such, he decided that he would conduct an experiment. “I thought I’d experiment by obeying God’s laws and see if they made any difference in my life.” Even without any personal commitment to God, he started to listen to and obey God’s laws as he saw them in the Scriptures. He says that the day he began that experiment, his life began to change in dramatic and fundamental ways. The promised blessings began to flow! For a number of years now, he has been on a quest to learn and obey God’s laws. His blessings are obvious to all. And there’s nothing “secular” about him anymore either!

Principle: God is eager to find even one person willing to obey His laws—eager to pour out His blessings, especially on those who love Him.

So what are we to do when God seems deaf to our cries for help? Make sure we are living in accord with His divine law. He listens to the prayers of the righteous. The unrighteous? Not so much. Also, He always hears prayers of repentance!

[from “Wisdom for the Trenches” by Dr. Larry W. Poland]