WHEN GOD CLOSES YOUR MOUTH
Jane needed to go into the
Department of Motor Vehicles office to get her driver’s license renewed, but when
she called the DMV over a month ago, the only available appointment wasn’t
until this week, only one day before her license expired! We were both a bit
nervous about it. And then an amazing thing happened.
The Lord silenced us
completely about the driver’s license. He didn’t tell us not to talk about our hesitations
or fears, but He just silenced us about the whole business. It didn’t hurt or
anything like that, and we kept talking about many other subjects as usual, but
neither of us expressed even one negative word about the appointment and what
was extra odd is that we didn’t even try to say any positive affirmations about
it either! It just wasn’t in our parameters of speech. The silence just
happened supernaturally with no thought or effort at all!
I went with Jane to her
appointment, and everything went smoothly and congenial—so congenial, in fact,
that the fellow forgot to ask Jane to do the eye test. He gave her the
temporary license and sent her over to get her picture taken for the permanent
license and off we went!
When we got in the car, we
rehearsed what the Lord had done, and Jane was rejoicing, “Jesus rocked it,
Jesus rocked it, JESUS ROCKED IT!! She was so happy she called her sister right
away to give her the good news. After rejoicing, we finally confessed our
unspoken fears and found out we both had the same thoughts: “What if she didn’t
pass her eye test? And what if she couldn’t drive?” Since she uses the car
every morning to go out and do her internet work, what kind of hoops would we
have to go through if they didn’t give her a license on this last day before
her old one expired?” We never spoke a word of this until that moment after the
appointment when the license was secured. Of course there is a good chance that
Jane would have passed the eye test, but if God had allowed us to speak our
hesitations and fears, the devil would have heard them too, and all kinds of
mishaps could have taken place. God wouldn’t allow that to happen and so He
orchestrated an awesome miracle for us.
God, of course, knew that
we both are very strong in believing together, and what we both agree on, comes
to pass. This principle works in the positive for us, but it can work in the
negative too, as God explains regarding the rebellious ones who sided with
Nimrod’s defiance of God in Babel.
“And they said, ‘Go to, let us build us a city and a tower,
whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we
be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ And the Lord came
down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
“And the Lord said, ‘Behold, the
people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to
do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to
do.
“Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language,
that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered
them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to
build the city.” (Gen. 11:4-8).
Here in Genesis, we see
that the people spoke the same language. Not only did they speak the same
dialect, but they agreed, and God said that because they agreed with each
other, they could accomplish what they agreed upon, and in this case, they were
building a city and a tower to exalt themselves above the true God. So the Lord
confused their language so they no longer could talk to each other and had to
stop building their evil city.
We see this same principle
working with Zacharias in the book of Luke. Like with Jane and me, God needed
to shut us up for a bit, to get His loving blessing to us.
Zacharias and his wife, Elisabeth “were both righteous
before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord
blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they
both were now well stricken in years” (Luke 1:6-7).
Zacharias was a priest, and it was his turn to burn incense
in the temple. And as he was praying, “there appeared unto him an angel of the
Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when
Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel
said unto him, ‘Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife
Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt
have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be
great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:11-15).
God had great plans for Zacharias, Elisabeth, and especially
their son, John the Baptist. But the angel quickly detected the fears that this
couple would discuss, and God wanted them blessed, so He couldn’t let the fear
take over.
“And
Zacharias said unto the angel, ‘Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man,
and my wife well stricken in years.’ And the angel answering said unto him, ‘I
am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee,
and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and
not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because
thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season’” (Luke
1:18-20).
So, sure
enough, Zacharias got the message, and he was unable to speak until his
wonderful son, John, was born.
God
needed to perform a miracle for Zacharias without Zacharias interfering, and
God needed to perform a miracle for Jane without her interfering as well. This
is just one of the ways that our Lord uses to keep the blessings flowing to His
people. So don’t be afraid if one day you find that the Lord has shut your
mouth for a time. He’s just in the process of getting an amazing blessing to
you, His beloved son or daughter!
Love, Carolyn
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