Sometimes God is silent.

Have you ever been so frustrated with His silence that you feel you can’t take even one more minute of it? Have you ever cried until there were no more tears left, begging Him to speak?

And still He doesn’t say anything.

Because of His silence, you start to harden your heart and believe the lies of the enemy: “God doesn’t love you; He doesn’t have anything good planned for you; He just wants to tease you with everything you want and never actually give you anything.”

What’s so difficult about hearing these lies is that your circumstances might make them appear to be true. You don’t understand why God is leaving you in your current situation when you know He could change it this very second.

At times like this, remember what Jesus told His disciples when He was being arrested and they were trying to prevent it: “Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will provide Me at once with more than 12 legions of angels? How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matt. 26:53-54).

Christ knew His suffering was for a greater good, and the only way to this greater good was the cross.

God can change your circumstances and send legions of angels to rescue you, but then the greater good — your transformation into the image of Christ — would not come to pass.

Today, trust that there is purpose in your suffering and that, in God’s timing, you will experience His restoration.