Dancing In The Dark

Beth talked about silence, and her point was: When God is silent, because of our sin, it’s because He wants us to deal with that sin; but we tend to panic, and to force our own solutions.

She’s right, of course... But my thought was: Because we live under New Testament grace, God is never entirely absent from us–never entirely silent.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.--John 14:17

Then, my mind bounced back to a couple of old blogs; and I got the coolest mental picture! From
On Boo-boo’s and Blessings:
Let’s see a picture of what unconfessed sin does. It temporarily blocks blessings... Do you remember playing in the water, when you were little? Remember hooking up the garden hose, turning the flow up as high as it would go, and using your hand to control the speed and direction of the spray? Imagine that your thumb is firmly blocking the hose’s opening, so much so, that you can feel the vacuum-effect on your fifth digit. Think of the water as the flow of God’s blessings into your life; and think of your thumb as the unconfessed sin. The water has not vanished. In fact, a thin trickle of that refreshing fluid insists on pressing past that stubborn blockade. However, that trickle looks nothing like the full flow, nor can it come near to having the same effect as the full flow.

Trickle moments are times when it’s harder to hear God. Not because He has pulled away from us, but maybe because His response to us is taking a different form than we expected...

Also, consider this concept, from
Hearing Voices (Part II):
I want you to try an experiment. Even if you don’t carry it out physically, at least let it play out in your mind, and see where it takes you. Make a list of the five people with whom you spend the bulk of your time, and yes, phone contact counts. For everyone, that list will vary. Parents, teachers, siblings, spouses, children, bosses, co-workers, friends–the type of connection doesn’t matter. Put yourself in a darkened room. Those five people are with you, and you are sitting with your back to them. Have them, each in their turn, speak one word. Your name. Can you give the name of each speaker, without looking back? The answer is likely a "yes". Look back at your list. What number was Jesus? Was He in the room?...

Now, lets go back to that darkened room and those five people... What if they didn't speak your name? What if, instead, there was some small touch? If each in turn, they held your hand, or stroked your hair, or squeezed your shoulder, or kissed your cheek?

How difficult would it be to identify those five people, without the benefit of speech? Easy, right? Maybe even comforting?...

Let’s say four of those people exit the room–leaving just you and Jesus. Now, let’s say that you are in the midst of a trickle moment. In this room, the blocked flow of God’s blessing is depicted as the darkness that surrounds us, and as the silence of Jesus.

We want to ignore our unconfessed sin, so we try to move on. We ask Him for help and guidance in another matter. No answer. We plead and beg. We rant and rave. We accuse Him of ignoring us. And in the darkness, Jesus is smiling sadly and shaking His head. Why? Because all this time–even in the midst of our fiercest tantrums–He has never once let go of our hand. Just because He’s been silent doesn’t mean that He’s absent or inactive. Though it might’ve gone unnoticed, He’s been there, waiting for us to calm down. When we do, He gets a new grip, and the dance begins.

Yes, I said dance. Think about it. Slow-dancing is about holding someone close, reading their body language, and following their lead. When you dance with a partner who knows you well, there’s no need for words; and when you do talk, I’ll bet that the conversation is not about the steps of the dance... Can you picture yourself slow-dancing with Jesus?

Women are used to letting men lead. As for the guys who read this blog–if there are any of you out there–if you are uncomfortable with the idea of dancing with Jesus, remember that this dance is not about romantic love. It’s about the unconditional love of Christ.

In this dance, the ground we move over is our own history. He leads us back to that unconfessed sin. Along the way, we see chunks of Scripture which reveal our sin as sin. We see them because we are following His lead, and He's leading us to them. He keeps leading us back to that unconfessed sin–making us face it, until we confess it, repent of it, and let Him brush it away.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ---1 John 1:9

Why? Because it’s getting in His way; and He’s not content to let it remain. It’s not enough, to dance in the silent darkness, covering the same ground over and over again. He wants us to move forward, in a state of growth and blessing.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us...---Ephesians 3:20

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. ---1 Corinthians 2:9

For that to happen, after Jesus forgives us, we must forgive ourselves. If we don’t, Satan will use that guilt to weigh us down and keep us from moving forward. Remember, he is our constant accuser; so if we cling to guit, we're just making his work easier.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. ---Revelation 12:9-10

We must remember that once God forgives it, He immediately forgets it.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. ---Psalm 103:12

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. ---Hebrews 8:12

Hence, when we dwell on our guilt, we’re harping on something that God has no memory of. By the same token, when Satan whispers his accusations to God, his words carry no weight, because God holds no record of the wrong.

When we let go of the guilt, and claim the freedom that comes with forgiveness, we rob Satan of a measure of his power. Once that sin is dealt with, the flow of blessing is restored. Our dry season ends. The lights come on; and once again, we can hear the voice of Jesus.

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. ---Psalm 40:1-2

That’s when it’s time for another kind of dance... HAPPY DANCE!!!

And make no mistake, Jesus is rejoicing with you!

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ---Romans 8:31,37