The House or the Field?

I came across this song several years ago and found it again last night. Ouch. "Who will go and work for [Him] today?" May we all say, "Here am I, Lord; send me!"

My House Is Full, But My Field Is Empty
By Lanny Wolfe

There is peace and contentment in the Father's house today
Lots of food on His table and no one is turned away
There is singing and laughter as the hours pass by
But a hush calms the singing as the Father sadly cries:

"My house is full, but My field is empty, who will go and work for Me today?
It seems My children all want to stay around My table
But no one wants to work in My field, no one wants to work in My field."

Push away from the table, then look out through the window pane
Just beyond the house of plenty lies a field of golden grain
And it's ripe unto harvest, oh, but the reapers where are they?
There in the house, oh, can't the children hear the Father sadly say:

"My house is full, but My field is empty, who will go and work for Me today?
It seems My children all want to stay around My table
But no one wants to work in My field, no one wants to work in My field."

When God Is Silent

Today I was feeling a bit discouraged and overwhelmed. I had prayed, but it seemed God was silent, and I was wondering why I had to wait for His answer. As I often do in such moods, I reached for a treasured book, Springs in the Valley, by L. B. Cowman. The entries in this devotional book often seem to be written just for me. This time was no different. The words jumped off the page and struck my heart:

     "'When He had heard therefore that [Lazarus] was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was.' (Jn 11:6) And so the silence of God was itself an answer. It is not merely said that there was no audible response to the cry from Bethany; it is distinctly stated that the absence of an audible response was itself the answer to the cry -- it was when the Lord heard that Lazarus was sick that therefore He abode two days still in the same place where He was. I have often heard the outward silence. A hundred times have I sent up aspirations whose only answer has seemed to be the echo of my own voice, and I have cried out in the night of my despair, 'Why art Thou so far from helping me?' But I never thought that the seeming farness was itself the nearness of God -- that the very silence was an answer.
     It was a very grand answer to the household of Bethany. They had not asked too much, but too little. They had asked only the life of Lazarus. They were to get the life of Lazarus and a revelation of eternal life as well."

Maybe I haven't asked enough of God yet...

     "There are some prayers that are followed by a Divine silence because we are not yet ripe for all we have asked; there are others which are so followed because we are ripe for more. We do not always know the full strength of our own capacity; we have to be prepared for receiving greater blessings than we have ever dreamed. We come to the door of the sepulcher and beg with tears the dead body of Jesus; we are answered by silence because we are to get something better -- a living Lord."

Now it made sense. I am not yet ready for God's answer because I have not yet fully died to wanting my own way in the matter. When I die to self, I will be stretched to receive the full measure of the answer God wants to give me. I want that. I want a living Lord!

     "My soul, be not afraid of God's silence; it is another form of His voice. God's silence is more than man's speech. ... Have thy prayers been followed by a calm stillness? Well! Is not that God's voice -- a voice that will suffice thee in the meantime till the full disclosure comes? ... Wait for Him in silence, and ere long it shall become vocal. ... Think not that God's silence is coldness or indifference. When birds are on the nest preparing to bring forth life, they never sing. God's stillness is full of brooding. Be not impatient of God! When the Lord is to lead a soul to great faith, He for a time leaves his prayer unanswered" (pg. 284-285).

Humbled, I put the book away. God's silence is no longer something to be feared, but rather something to be cherished until He chooses to speak. I am satisfied. I want great faith, and if it means long silence from God, then so be it. 

The Reason

Why does the battle thicken so –

The darts rain fast upon my breast,

While missiles hurled with cruel force

Ring loud against my burnished crest?

Above the din I seem to hear

My Captain's voice in accents clear,

“Because your shield is down!”

Why does the enemy advance

And hem us round on every hand

While we, the army of the Lord,

Can scarce his arrogance withstand?

Above the shouts I seem to hear

My Captain's voice in accents clear,

“Because your shields are down!”

Ah! Now it's brighter – now I see

The enemy is taking flight,

And lo, the banner of the Cross

Streams red against the morning light;

But as they flee I seem to hear

My Captain call in accents clear,

“Let not your shields go down!”

-Thomas Kimber

Faster than the Speed of Light

Elder Jeff Arthur presented our worship talk this morning. Here's a nutshell version of his thoughts:

"And while I was ... praying ... and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God ... Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, ... being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, 'O Daniel, ... at the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved...'" (Dan. 9:20-23).

The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. In one year light travels 5,865,696,000,000 miles. We are told in Early Writings, pg. 41 that heaven lies beyond Orion. How far away is Orion? It's about 1,300 light years away from us. That's approximately 7,625,404,800,000,000 miles away! Light coming from Orion has been traveling for 1,300 years before we can see it. 

As soon as Daniel started to petition the throne of grace, God sent Gabriel, the covering angel, from His presence to answer the prayer of His beloved servant. And before Daniel finished praying, Gabriel was standing beside him. How fast did Gabriel travel? If one angel can do something so impossible to human logic, what can my God do? 

"Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of His children. ... His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice." (Steps to Christ, 100)