When God Leaves You With What He Already Said

There are moments in the believer’s life when God allows the outward manifestations of His presence to become less obvious. Scripture says of Hezekiah that “God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.” This does not mean that an omnipresent God literally abandoned him. Rather, God permitted the manifestations and assurances of His presence to withdraw so that what was truly in Hezekiah’s heart could be revealed. Pasted text

Sometimes the spiritual “goosebumps” stop. The immediate confirmations cease. The overwhelming sense of God’s presence may not be as noticeable as it once was. Suddenly, it seems that all you have left is what God said.

And that may be exactly where the test begins.

Much of the Church has learned to depend heavily upon manifestations that make us conscious of God—powerful services, prophetic words, emotional experiences, signs, immediate answers to prayer, and other visible confirmations. Those things have their place, but they were never intended to replace our commitment to the written Word of God.

The real question is: What happens when the manifestation is gone and all you have is the Word?

Are You Committed to His Presence—or His Principles?

Think about a father establishing rules for his household. There may be phone curfews, bedtimes, chores, kitchen rules, and other expectations. The children know the rules because they have been clearly communicated and written down.

But while the parents are standing in the house, it can be difficult to know whether the children are truly committed to the principles or simply behaving because Mom and Dad are present.

Then the parents leave.

Suddenly, the children are no longer conscious of their parents’ physical presence—but the rules have not changed. What was written is still written.

That is when character is revealed.

Some children obey only because they fear getting caught. Once the parents leave, they abandon the instructions because they were never truly committed to them. In the same way, believers can become dependent upon the sense of God’s presence rather than developing a settled commitment to His Word. Pasted text

Spiritual maturity asks:

Can God trust you to obey what He wrote even when you do not presently feel Him watching?

Could You Open the Door Immediately?

Imagine Jesus knocking at your door unexpectedly.

Could you open the door immediately?

Or would you need a few minutes to change what is playing on the television, turn something off, hide something, change the music, grab the Bible, and place it on the coffee table?

That question exposes something important. There are behaviors that people maintain because they are conscious of God's presence rather than because their hearts have become committed to God's Word.

But when the Book becomes enough, something changes.

You begin living at another level of spiritual maturity.

You are no longer obeying because you felt something. You are obeying because it is written.

The Book Is Enough

When the centurion approached Jesus concerning his servant, he essentially said, “Speak the word only.”

Jesus marveled at that kind of faith.

The centurion did not require Jesus to come into his house. He did not demand a physical manifestation. He did not need Jesus to lay hands on the servant. He believed that Christ’s word carried enough authority within itself to produce the desired result.

That is great faith.

There is tremendous spiritual maturity in reaching the place where you can say:

“If God said it, that is enough for me.”

The Word works. The Word carries the authority of the One who spoke it. The believer who learns to stand upon Scripture does not have to collapse emotionally every time circumstances fail to provide immediate confirmation. Pasted text

What Happens When the Manifestation Stops?

There are seasons when God makes His presence unmistakable.

You feel His presence.

You see His hand moving.

Doors open.

Prayers seem to be answered immediately.

Confirmations come from everywhere.

Everything around you appears to testify:

“God is with me!”

But what happens when those manifestations stop?

What happens when heaven seems quiet?

What happens when you pray and do not immediately feel anything?

What happens when circumstances appear to contradict the very Word upon which you have been standing?

This is where faith must become stronger than feelings.

There are moments when circumstances can look completely dead. Emotionally, you may even find yourself crying on the floor. Your feelings may be overwhelmed—but your emotions do not have to determine your confession.

You can look at something that appears completely dead and remember:

Jesus was dead too.

And death was not the end of His story.

After death came resurrection.

After what appeared to be final came resurrection power, getting-back-up power, greater faith, greater anointing, greater joy, and greater peace.

The appearance of death does not have authority to cancel the promise of God. Pasted text

Faith Must Graduate From Constant Confirmation

What happens when there is no new prophecy?

No new sign?

No new confirmation?

No visible evidence that anything is changing?

Will you still believe what is written?

There comes a point in our walk with God when our faith must graduate from requiring constant confirmation to standing confidently upon what God has already said.

Sometimes the greatest test of faith is not whether you can believe God when His presence is obvious.

The test is whether you can stand upon His Word when His presence is not obvious. Pasted text

From the Open Heaven to the Wilderness

Jesus Himself demonstrates this progression beautifully.

Matthew 3 presents an extraordinary spiritual experience. Jesus is baptized, the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father's voice declares:

“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Everything is unmistakable.

There is an open heaven.

There is visible manifestation.

There is supernatural confirmation.

There is an audible declaration from God.

Then Matthew 4 begins.

Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Notice the dramatic transition:

Matthew 3: Open heaven.Matthew 4: Wilderness.

Matthew 3: The Father's voice.Matthew 4: The tempter's voice.

Matthew 3: Visible manifestation.Matthew 4: Temptation.

Matthew 3: “This is My beloved Son.”Matthew 4: “If Thou be the Son of God…”

Satan immediately attacked what God had already said.

But something remarkable happened:

The Father did not repeat Himself. Pasted text

God Had Already Spoken

When Satan challenged Jesus' identity, there was no second voice from heaven saying:

“Don't listen to him, Jesus! You really are My Son!”

Why?

Because God had already spoken.

Jesus did not need another word. He needed to stand upon the Word He already had.

This principle appears elsewhere in Scripture as well. God directed Joshua back toward what had already been written. There comes a point when asking God to continually repeat Himself can become a substitute for believing what He has already said.

Sometimes we keep asking:

“Lord, are You still with me?”

Yet it is written that He will never leave nor forsake us.

“Lord, can You really heal me?”

Yet Scripture points us toward what Christ accomplished through His suffering.

“Lord, are You going to bring me through this?”

Yet God has already filled His Word with promises concerning His faithfulness.

At some point, faith has to stop asking God to continually repeat Himself and begin declaring:

“God already spoke. Now I am going to stand.” Pasted text

Sometimes One Word Can Change a 38-Year Problem

Consider the man who had suffered with his condition for thirty-eight years.

Thirty-eight years is a long time.

Jesus asked him whether he wanted to be made whole, and the man's initial response focused on other people—people were getting ahead of him; nobody was there to help him.

But Jesus' Word shifted the responsibility away from everyone else.

He essentially commanded him to rise, take up his bed, and walk.

He did not need everybody else to treat him correctly.

He did not need everyone around him to cooperate.

He did not need somebody to finally come along and help him.

He needed a Word—and he needed to act upon that Word.

A problem that had existed for thirty-eight years changed when the man acted upon what Jesus said. Pasted text

Sometimes we assume the length of our struggle determines how long our breakthrough must take.

But the greater issue may be:

When will we receive the revelation necessary to act upon what God has said?

Israel did not have to spend forty years wandering in the wilderness. God had already told them to possess the land.

Delay does not necessarily mean God's Word lacks power.

Sometimes the delay is between hearing the Word and finally acting upon it.

Jesus Answered the Wilderness With “It Is Written”

Three times Satan tempted Jesus.

Three times Jesus returned to the same foundation:

“It is written.”

Matthew 4:4 — It is written.

Matthew 4:7 — It is written.

Matthew 4:10 — It is written.

Jesus demonstrated one of the greatest principles of spiritual warfare:

When there was no fresh manifestation, He relied upon the written Word of God. Pasted text

He did not say:

“I need another sign.”

He did not say:

“Father, speak to Me again.”

He did not demand another supernatural manifestation.

Neither did He sit in the wilderness reminiscing about the “good old days” when the heavens opened, the Father's voice thundered, and the Spirit descended like a dove.

The wilderness required something different.

The wilderness required:

IT IS WRITTEN.

There Are Seasons When You Don't Need Another Prophecy

There are seasons when you do not need another prophecy.

You do not need another dream.

You do not need another sign.

You do not need another confirmation.

You need to remember what is written.

When your feelings change:

It is written.

When circumstances change:

It is written.

When people change:

It is written.

When the enemy whispers:

It is written.

When heaven seems quiet:

IT IS WRITTEN. Pasted text

There can come a season in spiritual development when God shifts the believer away from dependence upon constant manifestations and teaches him to become firmly established upon revelation knowledge.

There is an anointing that makes people shout, run, rejoice, and become outwardly excited—but there is also a powerful anointing that enables someone to simply sit under the Word, receive revelation, and become established in truth.

The mature believer learns not to measure the activity of God merely by outward excitement.

Sometimes one of the most powerful things God is doing is quietly establishing His Word so deeply inside you that when every outward confirmation disappears, you still cannot be moved.

Terrance Shivers