When God seems silent

Driving with our 15-month-old grandson recently taught me a valuable lesson about our relationship with God. Strapped in his car seat, he soon began screaming to come out. My daughter, sitting beside him, wasn't about to do that – it wasn't safe. But it gets much harder to ignore when a small sobbing voice pleads, "Please, mamma, out. Please." You know the seat is for his protection, yet he's begging for what he wants. We do the same with God. In our limited view, our requests seem reasonable and necessary, yet sometimes God appears silent – he doesn't grant what we ask. This isn't because he doesn't love us; it's exactly the opposite. He cares for us more than we know, in ways we can't begin to understand. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Isaiah 55:8). God knows what is best, even when it feels like our cries go unheard. "In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). And like a parent whose heart breaks to see their child in distress, God feels our pain too – "In all their distress he too was distressed… In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old." (Isaiah 63:9). (Craig B). Open Bible – bit.ly/Isa55v8, bit.ly/Rom8vs28, bit.ly/Isa63v9