When Faith's Song Goes Silent

When I think of Cynthia Ruchti, I think of hope and wisdom. It's the hallmark of her life and ministry. In this Spiritual Growth UPGRADE, she calls us to value the unique song of silence.

“What happens," Cynthia says, "when faith’s song goes silent? Or is missing key notes? Or grates on our nerves because it feels out of tune?”

Oh, how well I (Dawn) remember a whole long year when faith's song felt out of tune. I was miserable and depressed. And I know what Cynthia says is true.

Cynthia continues . . .

Many of us express our faith in song:

• He’s a Good, Good Father
• I’m Standing on the Promises of God
• He’s All I Need
• How Great Is Our God
• This Is Amazing Grace
• Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine

But the heart doesn’t always feel like singing, at least not an upbeat, confident, triumphant song.

Life’s circumstances can threaten to turn our “praise songs that work great for cardio exercises” into a dirge, a lament, or a barely-hanging-on-how-miserable-can-this-get? blues tune.

Every time we open to the book of Psalms in the Bible, we’re reminded it’s not a twenty-first century problem. Listen to the way the psalmist David intertwined the wrestlings of his faith with the truths that held him in their grip:

“Get me out of this net that’s been set for me because you are my protective fortress” (Psalm 31:4 CEB).

“I rejoice and celebrate in your faithful love because you saw my suffering—you were intimately acquainted with my deep distress” (Psalm 31:7 CEB).

“Have mercy on me, Lord, because I am depressed. My vision fails because of my grief, As do my spirit and my body ...

"Strength fails me ...

"I’m a joke to all my enemies ... I scare my friends, And whoever sees me in the street Runs away ...

"I am forgotten, like I’m dead, Completely out of my mind ...

"But me? I trust you, Lord! I affirm, ‘You are my God.’ My future is in your hands” (Psalm 31:9-15 CEB).

No matter how long the lament, how soul-rattling its lyrics, how far distanced from hope its tune, the song turns from minor key to major when the Truth gets its solo.

When faith’s song seems to have gone silent, for whatever logical or unexplainable reason, we have options:

• Listen to the fear-inducing noise our rusty, creaking soul makes in the hollow, silent spaces.
• Listen to the unbelieving or skeptical world that claims silence is a sign of God’s absence, despite reassurances to the contrary in God’s never-silent, never-will-I-leave-you-or-forsake-you Word.
• Realize that silence is its own song.

My music educator father often said, “Play the rests with as much intensity and focus as you do the notes on the page. Rests are not moments of nothingness. Play the rests.”

When only twenty-two, the hymn writer Robert Robinson penned these faith-gone-silent words in 1757. How true they ring today.

“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”

Listen for the significant, pregnant-with-promise moment of silence after that familiar confession in this modern version (video) at the 5:15 mark. It will steal your breath, and steel your resolve to keep listening in the silence.

Do you value the silence or fear it? And if your answer is fear, reflect on the “and”—the moment of resting and regrouping—in Psalm 46:10.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Unlike many other verses in the Bible, these eight words appear without alteration in translation after translation. These words.

Stillness—or silence—was prescribed by God as a prelude, or an accompaniment, to knowing He is God, and finding our rest and courage in that truth. Is it in part because a whisper sounds loud in the silence?

So I’ll ask again, and prepare myself to answer the questions honestly too.

     Do you value silence?

          Have you heard its song?

               What did it teach you?

Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope. She’s the award-winning author of more than eighteen books and a frequent speaker for women’s ministry events. She and her husband live in the heart of Wisconsin. Connect with her at cynthiaruchti.com or hemmedinhope; or check out her recent release—Song of Silence.

Graphic of bench, courtesty of Morguefile.

3 Falls to Consider

In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, Dawn Wilson suggests how considering three "falls" can help us grow in our relationship to the Lord.

We don't have to look far in our culture, and even in the church, to see the consequences of The Fall in the Garden of Eden; but there are two other "falls" that can have consequences—good ones—in our lives too.

1. The Fall of All Falls

Everything God made—man and woman, animals, plant life, the universe—was "very good," according to Genesis 1:31. Yet Adam and Eve doubted God's goodness and questioned His Word. They listened to the lie of the serpent. And it was a great fall (Genesis 3:1-24).

In "Lessons from the Fall," W. Phillips wrote, "... the serpent offered an alternative interpretation of God's motives" and called into question God's character and trustworthiness. The serpent "reduced God's Word to the level of a mere viewpoint," Phillips wrote, "while man became the measure of what is 'true for me'."

As a result, Eve deliberately decided to defy and disobey God's command (verse 6).

We see this same outworking of The Fall in mankind today.

Man questions God's Word and substitutes personal truth for God's Truth.

Because of The Fall, there are four truths still in effect today:

• What God says (God's Word) is still our measure for holiness. It's our standard for knowing and obeying the Lord and rightly relating to Him (1 Corinthians 15:45), not our viewpoints or some new standards we create.
• We still have a terrible sin problem. It's not what happened to us in our environment at any stage of life. (Even in a perfect environment, we still choose to sin.) Sin brings "death"—spiritual separation from God (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 5:12).
• Suffering is still an awful result of The Fall. Sin led to all the suffering in the past, and is at the root suffering we see today (Romans 8:20-22).
• Our only hope, our only solution, is still Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22).
  

And that brings me to the second "fall."

2. Our Need to "Fall" before the Cross

When Adam and Eve sinned, God provided the means for rescue. Genesis 3:15—known as the "protoevangelium" (first gospel)—is God's promise of the time when Satan (the serpent, see Revelation 12:9) would be crushed by "the seed of the woman," a future savior. Many Bible teachers consider this a direct reference to Jesus.

Just as Adam represented all mankind, and sin brought death, in Christ—the believer's representative head—brings life (1 Corinthians 15:22). Galatians 2:20 says we were "crucified" with Christ ... and it's not our life we enjoy now, but His!

Life from death. Old Testament saints looked forward to that redemption; and believers today look back to the cross.

I say we must "fall" at the cross, because coming to Christ takes the true humility, the bowing of our hearts before Him. We acknowledge we have "gone astray," turning to our own way (Isaiah 53:6). We admit our understanding is "darkened" and our hearts are hard (Ephesians 4:18).

God calls us to fall before Him (in our heart, if not our body) in repentance and faith (Acts 11:18; 2 Peter 3:9; 2 Corinthians 7:10; John 3:16; Romans 10:9-13).

Falling at the cross means fully embracing God's amazing grace.

In the words of an old hymn:

Upon that cross of Jesus Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One, Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart, with tears, Two wonders I confess,
The wonders of His glorious love, And my own worthlessness.

I remember well the night I more fully understood what Jesus had done for me. I fell to the floor and wept ... and arose from that solemn time smiling with new-found joy, so grateful for the grace of the Lord.

It's once-and-forever salvation. But that doesn't mean we're never broken over our sin again.

3. Fallings of Surrender.

There have been many "fallings" since that evening I fell "Beneath the Cross of Jesus." These are the fallings of surrender—of giving up, letting go.

It is the choice to die, like a seed falling to the ground and "dying" so God can bring forth a great harvest (John 12:24). It is the choice to yield my rights to my Lord.

Falling in surrender involves acknowledging weakness. It is dying to self-suffiiency too. It says, "In me dwells no good thing" apart from Christ (Romans 7:18), and without Him, I "can do nothing" (John 15:5). It's for broken people who know we can't handle everything, in spite of our silly attempts to prove we can.

Falling in surrender is radical self-denial—losing our life for Jesus' sake (Matthew 16:25).

Surrender is not an option for true disciples. But, and it's not surprising, this is the "fall" many reject. Our entire culture promotes self-effort and self-sufficiency. We recoil from showing weakness and admitting needs.

Surrender is often equated with failure, because our definition of success is skewed.

Yet Jesus still invites us to fall in surrender, because He knows that's where the miracles of life happen. That's where we yield to His control, where He moves in, and where He begins to use and bless us.

We want abundant life. It all begins with our recognition of sin, our receiving of the Savior, and our relinquishment of our weakness to His great strength.

In Christ, we're given life and then continuing abundance as we fall before Him in sweet surrender—resting in His grace.

When you consider the three falls, what does the Spirit of God speak to your soul?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), andUpgrade with Dawn. She is contracted researcher for Revive Our Hearts. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Still a Daddy's Girl

In this Relationship with God UPGRADE, Dawn reminds us how much the Father loves us!

I like to think I was my dad's favorite. Sorry, Pam, you may be my sister, but Daddy loved me best. (And in saying that, I recall the humor of the Smother's Brothers: "Mom always liked you best.")

Of course, that's not true. Dad didn't love me more than my sister. It just felt like Daddy loved me to the max. (I'm sure you feel the same way, sis.)

I was a "Daddy's Girl" growing up. Not that I didn't love Mom, but there was a special link to my dad.

• I was the apple of His eye, and he loved me even when I messed up ... a lot!
• I trusted Daddy completely and he was my protector.
• Dad was more action than talk, but when he did share in quiet moments, he gave me wisdom for life; he prepared me to face many difficulties.
• We thought alike and had similar goals; he gave me a sense of purpose.
• And Daddy corrected me in love.
• As a result, I always wanted to please Him.

In later years, after I moved to the opposite coast, distance kept us apart, but Daddy was always in my heart. Even after my dad passed away to be with the Lord, I find I am still connected to him through memories and love.

When I celebrated what would have been Daddy's birthday recently, I took time to contemplate something else: I'm also a spiritual daughter. God is my Heavenly Father.

"... I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:18).

God's spirit wooed me to His love and when I trusted in Jesus to redeem me from my sin and give me new life, I became part of His heavenly family (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:5).

"The Spirit himself testified with our spirit that we are God's children" (Romans 8:16).

Maybe you don't have a good example of fatherhood in your history (see note*). I understand that. Some dads, especially those who don't know the Lord, can be hurtful and ungodly; and I grieve whenever I see an unworthy example of fatherhood in the church.

My earthly daddy was a failing sinner who made some bad choices. He was as dependent on God's grace as I am.

Yet in many ways, my earthly daddy did remind me of my "Abba" (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6)—my Heavenly Father. Sometimes my dad intended to give me this model; other times I simply learned about God by watching Daddy's life.

Daddy gave me a sometimes dim, sometimes clear picture of my Father God.

In time, I came to understand at least six things about my Heavenly Father:

1. God LOVED me even when I was unloveable—long before I ever loved Him. "We love Him because He first loved us." (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10, 19) God chose me to be holy and blameless before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4).

He continues to love me today with contant, unfailing love; and someday, out of His love, He will make me like His Son (1 John 3:1-2). His unfailing love is priceless to me (Psalm 36:7a)

2. Father God is my Savior and PROTECTOR, much as He protected His chosen people, Israel. He is a refuge for His people (Psalm 17:7-9a; 91:1, 4).

I can trust Him, for He is a faithful refuge (Psalm 46:1).

3. My Father TEACHES me wisdom for life (Proverbs 7:2; Psalm 25:4-5)

He helps me think His thoughts and see from His perspective as I stay teachable and connected to Him through scripture and prayer.

4. God helps me understand and desire His PURPOSES (Psalm 33:11; 135:6; Isaiah 25:1; 55:11; Ephesians 1:9; Romans 12:1-2).

5. He DISCIPLINES me to change my character (Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:6).

6. I want to PLEASE my good, wise and loving Father, following the example of Christ (John 4:34; 8:29; Romans 8:8; Psalm 147:11; Hebrews 11:6; Luke 6:46).

So as far as I can tell, I will always be a "Daddy's Girl."

By the way, don't let "distance" keep you apart from the Father. He is always present, but you may feel a tug in your heart that says something is wrong—that sin, apathy, idols, busyness, pride or something else is keeping you apart.

If you are a Prodigal child (Luke 15:11-32), come back to the Father.

He's waiting for you.

Are you part of God's heavenly family? Do you understand what that means? (If not, please read here.)

* A note to those who did (or do) not have a positive model of fatherhood in this world.

If you are wise, you will not allow this to fester in your heart with bitterness. Instead, you will carefully and prayerfully look to other strong and godly men in the Body of Christ for a worthy example of fatherhood. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide and guard your heart as you seek out worthy examples to observe and learn from. If he's still alive, pray and consider how to show love to your dad in ways that will draw him into a relationship (or closer walk) with the Lord.

And, remember: in the Bible, you can always study the character of the greatest Father in all creation, the Creator Himself!

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is the creator of three blogs:Heart ChoicesToday, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is on the board of NEWIM, the Network of Evangelical Women in Ministry and is a contracted researcher for Revive Our Hearts. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Fenced in by Love (Part 2)

In part 1 of "Fenced in By Love," we saw that God keeps and preserves His own "sheep"--the souls of those who love Him and are in a personal relationship with Him. 

Today, we're considering HOW and WHY God keeps His people.

This is important, because I (Dawn) think there is sometimes a misunderstanding when people think God has forgotten them in their difficulties. The truth is, God is always up to something beyond what we might be able to see or understand.

So let's continue . . .

3. HOW is the the Lord keeping His people?

This goes back to the words "keep" and "preserve." Does being kept by the Lord mean God's people will never suffer? No, it's clear from scripture that believers will suffer (Psalm 6:6-7; Psalm 71:20a).

The harmful effects of the Fall in Genesis 3 will touch all of us this side of heaven. We may suffer persecution and even death. But we can be steadfast in the midst of the most desperate trials (James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:6-9).

The Christian's perspective on suffering is far different from those without the Lord. Instead of fighting the testing process of our circumstances, we can ask for our Father's will to be accomplished, learn to see life's trials as a blessing as we seek His perspective, and ask Him for wisdom to proceed.

We are never left alone in this process. Our Father knows we are weak and this is an uncertain world, and we cannot fully protect ourselves.

He is "watching over the way of His saints" (Proverbs 2:8). I have no doubt, if we could lift the veil between heaven and earth, we would see His care and protection in countless ways: the car that missed hitting us, the poison we missed ingesting, the thief who somehow couldn't find our front door, etc.

Yes, many things do happen to us in this sinful world, but ...

We are proud people indeed if we think we are not in God's constant, loving watchcare.

Back to Psalm 121:7 for a moment. The tense of the word "keep" in that verse includes the future. It means God will keep us both now and forever. He is with us and helping us in our current troubles, and and He will ultimately rescue us from ALL our troubles.

God, in His perfect and loving will, may not rescue us from all our troubles in the here and now, but the Lord has promised protection from our ultimate enemy, sin (Romans 6:14). Sin no longer has the power to enslave us or determine where we will spend eternity, if we are in Christ. But we do have a choice about sin.

In other words, our future is secure in Christ, and no one can snatch us out of our Father's strong hand! (John 10:28-29); but will we trust Christ and live now under His provided protection, or will we go beyond the fence of His love and "sleep with the enemy," giving in to sin's control?

4. WHY is the Lord keeping His people?

Way back in Genesis, God told Jacob, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go ... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis 28:15).

God has always watched over His people, not only because He loves them, but also to accomplish His purposes in and through them.

God absolutely has the ability to deliver His people, but it is not always His will to do so. For example, in His love He may allow a physical trial or some other trouble in order to purify us (James 1:2-3) or to show Himself strong in our declaration of faith (as happened with the patriarch, Job).

Sometimes Christians pay the ultimate price for their identification with Christ and their witness, as did the first Christian martyr, Stephen (Acts 6:8-7:53). God doesn't ask everyone to make the ultimate sacrifice, but He does call us to be faithful soldiers in the battle, wherever that leads us (Ephesians 6:12-20; 1 Peter 3:15).

Romans 8:28-30 explains God's ongoing and ultimate purpose for ALL of His children (the "saints" of verse 27):

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

Our Father wants us to be like His Son; and He lovingly, faithfully chisels away anything that doesn't look like Jesus.

So we read these powerful words in verse 31: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

• It's not that we will escape bodily harm (v. 36)—we may even be called to martyrdom; 
• but rather, we are "more than conquerors though him who loved us" (v. 37)—we have spiritual and eternal victory in Jesus;
• and nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus, our Lord (vv. 38-39). We are sealed for eternity through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14).

No matter our circumstances, God is watching and involved with eternal purposes for our lives.

We are forever fenced in by God's love!

Are you struggling with a deep problem? How does a fresh perspective on God's purposes for you encourage you today?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is the creator of three blogs:Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is the Director of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in Ministry (NEWIM San Diego) and is a contracted researcher for Revive Our Hearts. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Church graphic adapted from pixabay.com.

Chisel graphic adapted, Image courtesy of bugtiger at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Fenced in by Love (Part 1)

Photos of fences remind me of two things: Some things are kept out; other things are kept in.

I believe the LORD has fenced His people in with love.

In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, I (Dawn) want to encourage us with a truth we may not fully understand.

Psalm 121:7 says the Lord "keeps" His own.

The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. (ESV)

Other translations use the words "protect," "preserve" and "guard."

Over and over again in scripture, we see this:

• "The LORD preserves all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy" (Psalm 145:20).
• "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance" (Psalm 32:7).
• "The LORD protects and preserves them—they are counted among the blessed in the land—he does not give them over to the desire of their foes" (Psalm 41:2).
• "The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him" (Nahum 1:7).
• "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom...." (2 Timothy 4:18).

The Psalmist, especially, cried out to God for protection and was grateful for His care. In so many scriptures, we hear: God will keep, guard, protect and lovingly preserve His own.

Yet when I look around at the world today, I see those who claim to be Christians being slaughtered on the left and right by extremist movements. It's heartbreaking.

How does this square with scripture?

We have to ask . . .

1. WHAT is the Lord keeping? Is God promising to preserve our bodies? Or is He, as we see in Psalm 97, preserving something else?

"Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked" (Psalm 97:10).

As Matthew Henry wrote in his Concise Commentary:

"Care is taken for their (God's faithful servants') safety. But something more is meant than their lives. The Lord will preserve the souls of his saints from sin, from apostacy, and despair, under their greatest trials. He will deliver them out of the hands of the wicked one, and preserve them safe to His heavenly kingdom."

Our bodies are merely shells housing precious gifts from God: eternal souls. God says He preserves the souls of His saints.

2. WHO is the Lord keeping?

Is God keeping everyone? No, He is keeping His own, those He is making holy.

The Shepherd of the sheep knows and keeps His own flock (Psalm 23; John 10:14). "... The Lord knows those who are his..." (2 Timothy 2:19); "...whoever loves God is known by God" (1 Corinthians 8:3).

Note: the Lord just as clearly says he "doesn't know" others in the same kind of personal relationship (Matthew 7:21-23). Jesus knows how to identify His own sheep. He knows those who have not trusted in Him—those who are faking it or trusting in other "shepherds."

Yes, Jesus, the Good Shepherd of the Bible, loves His sheep, and He will faithfully preserve each soul in His flock.

Tomorrow, we'll look and HOW and WHY the Lord keeps His people.

Are you part of the Good Shepherd's flock and fenced in by His great love? If you're not sure, please read this helpful post (not related to my blog).

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is the creator of three blogs:Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is the Director of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in Ministry (NEWIM San Diego) and is a contracted researcher for Revive Our Hearts. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Church graphic adapted from pixabay.com.