Sweat Now, Summit Later: Four Days to Getting the Most Out of the MountaintopSample

The Silent Treatment

Have you ever been given the silent treatment? You know the one. You offended someone, maybe they took something wrong, someone's feelings got hurt, there was a miscommunication, and now you've been ghosted. If we're honest, we've probably all had a moment where we felt this way with God too. There are times when it seems like God is silent, and it's frustrating. It's the most frustrating when you're doing everything you should be doing–you're going to church, reading your Bible, going to conference, but God is giving you nothing. You feel like He's distant, doesn't care, maybe just doesn't have anything for you, and it seems like He's giving you the silent treatment.

A pastor named Rick Warren said, "Friendships are often tested by separation and silence, you're divided by physical distance, or you're unable to talk. In your friendship with God, you won't always feel close to Him. In a relationship with God, no matter how intimate, the pendulum will swing from one side to the other, and that's when worship gets difficult. To mature your friendship, God will test it with periods of seeming separation and times when it feels as if He's abandoned or forgotten you."

The good news about walking with God is that it has nothing to do with how we feel and everything to do with what we know is true. It has everything to do with His faithfulness, His kindness to us, and His perfect track record. The book of James doesn't say, "If you feel like God is near, He's near!" Or "If you draw near to God, He may or may not be there but keep trying." He tells us in His word if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us, so you can take that to the bank.

This week, you might feel that summer camp "high," you might feel that closeness with God...but you might not. And if you don't, even when it seems everyone else around you is, don't shut down. Don't quit when you don't hear from God. Don't run away when you can't hear His voice. Don't write Him off when you can't feel His presence. Instead, rethink the silent treatment. What if it's a good thing? What if it's just a test? You know that the teacher is there when you're taking a test. They didn't leave the room, but you're taking a test! They give you the instructions, and then what? Silence. In the testing, God wants to see what comes out. He wants to see the fruit in your life, He wants to see the true colors come out, and He wants to see you walk through with strength because there is a deeper relationship with Him on the other side of the test.

To make the most out of your mountain-top experience, lean in, no matter how you feel.

Ask God to speak to you this week, to meet you, to minister to you, and then tell Him with your whole heart, "God, even if I don't feel You, I know You are there. I'm going to lean in, I'm going to worship, and I'm going to trust that no matter what I feel or don't feel this week, You are making me more like You."