SILENT YEARS

SILENT YEARS

Because of our limited knowledge and sight, we call some years wastage when they are developing years. During the silent years, it may seem that God is far away from us because He may be quiet at that time. Remember that the examiner is quiet during examinations.

We shall use some cases in the Bible to illustrate what we are saying.

1. Joseph – At the age of seventeen, Joseph was sold as a slave, he spent some years in slavery then he was imprisoned. Both slavery and imprisonment took him thirteen years. From the prison, he was suddenly called and from there, he became the Prime Minister of Egypt.

Those years in slavery and imprisonment were silent years for him. These years were the period he learnt how to handle people and resources. This was the period that God trained him through exposures and other areas to be able to handle the work ahead of him that he did not know about. If you had seen it as wasted years, rethink because silent years are developing years.

• Moses – Moses had to stay forty years in the wilderness. Were those years wasted? Obviously, no! This was the period when Moses was thoroughly dead to self. God cannot use you greatly if you are not dead to self and the things of the world.
• David – After David killed Goliath, he had to be running up and down for his dear life. He spent about thirteen year in the wilderness which I call The University Of Wilderness. David was able to train and retrain himself and his soldiers. No wonder, he never lost a battle.
• Elijah – Elijah stayed by the brook and in the widow’s house for about three and a half years. He prepared for a terrible revival that shook the land.

As we look at these four personalities, we can see that those silent years were developing years.

Are you passing through some silent years and you are calling them wasted years? In the economy of God, He would and will never use a vessel that is not well-trained. May be you do not know His method of training. His ways are not our ways. Cheer up and give yourself fully to His training during your developing years and you will never be disappointed.

These four examples, came out of the silent years with a bang. If you patiently allow God, you are coming out with a bang also