What is a person to do when life is slower than expected and God is silent? Many of
the folks talking to me are saying things like…
“I really thought I would have a job by now.”
“My recovery isn’t going as quickly as I had expected.”
“After all of the praying I’ve been doing, I expected this relationship to be much more improved than it is.”
Many times life is remarkably slower than anticipated. Denials, delays, setbacks, and slow progress often dog the weary pilgrim.
“I really don’t mind if God says yes or no. I just want him to say something. I can’t take this silence!”
Which is more difficult? Slowness or silence?
The gap between my life as it really is and what I had hoped it to be is sometimes a huge chasm. Following are a few “GAP Strategies.”
Grow
The speed of life and the silence of God need not stop me from taking personal responsibility to continue to grow. I can always, by God’s grace, shift the focus of my personal growth away from those things that are out of my control. If my vehicle doesn’t run, I can thank God for the opportunity to develop my cardio as I walk.
When I was nearly paralyzed by PTSD, I decided that at least I could grow spiritually through reading the Psalms. I read Psalms every day, several times a day, and then listened to the Psalms all through the night.
Life may be slower than I had anticipated and God may be silent but I can continue to grow.
Activate
No one, absolutely no one, can rob me of my capacity to activate things in my life. One of history’s greatest vocalists, Andrea Bocelli, is blind. So he sits home in depression and bitterness, right? WRONG! He activated his personal choices and determined to be an amazing skier, cyclist, roller blade guru, and horseback rider.
If I can’t move my leg, I can wiggle my toes. In every silent and slow delay I have been endued with the capacity to activate many other things. I can move from nouns to verbs.
Present
I am learning to be present in the present. When things are going much slower than I 
had hoped and God isn’t talking, I can enjoy the friendship of Copper, our little Yorkie, right here, right now. We too often get taken to another time and another place rather than being mindful of this moment and space.
What is happening right here, right now? Don’t let slowness or silence rob you of the superb things available for your experience in the present. Are you in a hospital bed at this very moment? Look out the window and see if there is a rainbow, or a cool cloud, or an eagle, or some other fascinating gift from God.
If life is rolling slower than expected and God is silent, remember this simple GAP strategy. Grow. Activate. Present.