Long time, no post...

There are times when God is silent. For 400 years between the Old and New Testaments God was quiet. His people might have even thought him aloof. They struggled under bondage and God did nothing.

I think that one of the ways God gets our attention is through the silent times - the desert times. Even in David's time God was, essentially, taken captive when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. The presence of God - at least His visible presence - was gone.

I have been two months without a post. Partially that has been due to inattention, but partially that has been due to "dryness." There is a line from the movie (I can't remember if it's in the book), The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring, where Bilbo tells Gandalf that he feels "stretched, like butter spread over too much bread."

I believe that God has been taken me on the journey of the desert. I am amazed at how much insignificant stuff into which I have invested my time and life. I am ashamed that I find myself in some ways almost addicted to these weak substitutes and how difficult it is to let them go. I am at the very beginning of finding myself shattered at the fact that I have sold my passion to the lowest bidder.

This may or may not make sense to you. If you know me, it may explain some things.

The one thing that I am sure of however is that I am still there in the desert, but I am beginning to see God's hand in bringing me there and instead for praying for refreshment, I am praying that God will continue to dry out, dehydrate, and wither those areas of my life that have become more important than complete intimacy with Him.