The Maori people of New Zealand had a well-kept secret: The
Waitomo Caves. However, there comes a time that every secret is revealed, and it
so happened that in 1887, Chief Tane Tinorau felt compelled to share this secret
with Fred Mace, a British surveyor.
Using a raft consisting of flax stems, the two of them floated into the cave via
the Waitomo River. Candles were their only form of light, and although many
consider candle lighting to be exotic, it was only enough to give a brief
reflection of everything there was to see. As their eyes adjusted to the
darkness, they discerned numerous glow-worms around them, and they were totally
in awe. They had arrived in a surreal world surrounded by insect-made light,
lights that served to brighten the entire cave. It was as if they had stepped
into another world where beauty reigned supreme.
They couldn't help but return many times to admire these creatures. Eventually
all other access points to the caves were discovered, along with beautiful
limestone formations. Had the caves been kept a secret, none of these would have
ever been exposed!
We all have secrets as well. The worst ones are those we keep hidden away in our
hearts when God appears to not be answering our prayers. Rather than turning to
God to find out why our prayers weren't answered, we accuse Him of not taking
care of us. We accuse Him of not hearing us. We accuse Him of not seeing our
needs as important in His eyes. And so we go on, day in and day out, frustrated,
discouraged, and at times, even angry at God, with our "secret" firmly clutched
in our hearts.
Let's put this into perspective here. What do we generally do when we don't
understand someone or something? Imagine taking a class of some sort,
discovering, for example, the binary codes that control your computer, an
interesting subject to the many of us! Sooner or later we will come face to face
with the fact that we simply cannot understand some aspects of the course! And
we come away thoroughly confused. What do we do in those times? Do we continue
to take the class and pretend we have a good handle of the subject? Wouldn't it
be better to ask the teacher, the expert, for help?
And what if our paycheck is smaller than ever? Will we remain quiet and keep our
frustrations inside? Of course not! We will ask our employer about it! And if
our child comes back home with a bad grade, we don't ignore it, we ask
questions! And if our spouse comes back home grim-faced after a doctor's visit,
we don't just assume he or she will get over it, we ask how the visit went!
It is no different with God. When God is silent, it is His invitation for us to
go directly to Him and ask Him to show us the situation from His perspective!
Isn't this what David did? "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are
you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?" (Ps 22:1, NIV2) And
weren't these Jesus' words as well, uttered from the top of a cruel Roman cross
(See Matthew 27:46)?
God urges us to come to Him, especially when He is silent. His silence is His
invitation for us to approach Him, to get even closer to Him: "Call to me and I
will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
(Jer 33:3, NIV2)
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door
will be opened to you." (Matt 7:7, NIV2)
When we approach God about His silence, He will answer us. When He is assured
that we are ready to hear things from His perspective, He will show us how He
sees our situations. When we are ready to follow God's will, He will show us
what that will is, and we will fall on our knees in thanksgiving that He cares
so much for us. The end result will be that the entire experience will draw us
closer to God, the ultimate goal of any of His followers! When God becomes the
prime subject of our requests, it's a win-win situation! We realize then and
there that we are in His hands, the best place to be! And isn't this far better
than the healing we prayed for? Isn't this better that the new job we have been
pleading for?
The Waitomo caves are awesome, but they are truly only a shadow compared to the
splendor of our Heavenly Father!
Thank You Lord that we can come into Your presence when we are in need and that
You are always willing to hear our plea. Thank You for sustaining us and for
giving us opportunities to draw us closer to You than ever before. You are truly
our sole reality! In Jesus' name. Amen.
My wheel rolled off my brand new car!
What will you do about it?
Rob Chaffart
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