Does It Feel Like God is In “Not Responding” Mode?

“I cry out to You, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but You merely look at me.” (Job 30:20)

If you have been following my tweets or posts on Facebook you know I have been having a frustrating few days on my computers. One computer is having some of it’s own rebellious teenager issues (It’s 18 months old, ). But another computer confirms some of the problems are related to the internet itself.

No matter what I try to do or fix, I get that frustrating error message, “Not Responding.” Most of the time I can see even see the screen I want, but then it grows dim and I can’t access the information.

As I have sat there staring at the screen, I’ve had time to think (and pray!) and some of the reflections have reminded me of how we sometimes feel like God is sending us that “Not Responding” message.

We can ask God, as Job did, “I cry out to You, God, but You do not answer; I stand up, but You merely look at me.” We pray and cry out for answers from God. Sometimes we can even see His presences in our lives, but it’s dim, like that frustrating computer screen. We can see Him, but we cannot “access” Him. We can’t get Him to answer us, we cannot convince Him to give us explainations for our pain, and we aren’t able to figure out how to convince Him to respond in the way we wish. We don’t see Him doing anything with our life, it’s just dim as we wait.

I am trying to (patiently!) learn how to accept God in whatever form He comes to me in, rather than demanding a “sign” or an answered prayer. Sometimes, He just is. Yet He is aways there.

Many times, just like the computer screen, our options are “Quit” or “Try Again.”

When we’ve spent all our day on our knees, cried out in every way we know how, sometimes we just need to get up and gain a new perspective and see how He may answer our prayers. It may be in a much less likely place than we assumed it would be. It’s natural to constantly hit that “Try Again” button in your life. But occasionally it’s okay to click “Quit” and reboot with a fresh outlook.

About the Author:
Lisa Copen is the founder of rheumatoid arthritis. She has spent the morning at the rheumatologist and now is sitting at a coffee shop because her internet access has been flaky all morning. she is trying to take her own advice about “giving it over to God.”

You can now read this on your Kindle. Find out more at http://TodaysDevotionOnKindle.com

When you have cried out to God, prayed for answers, asked Him to reveal Himself, and you still get the “Not Responding” message, what do you do?