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Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the
shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen.
There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen.
The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening
to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God
to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God
will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait
on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through
thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was
destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those
years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure.
There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and
confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).
Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in
myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in
my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I
am Almighty God . . .”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The
reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as
God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality.
Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
"When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon
Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him"
- Genesis 15:12
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