Psalm 28:1 Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

There is nothing in this world that hurts as much as when my wife stops talking to me. It is a clear sign that I have done something wrong. With her silent I am left alone, wondering, “what have I done now?” It is not that she does not love me, for I know she does, but that I have wounded her in some way.

It is easy to translate those kinds of thoughts to God’s silence. We do offend God, not personally mind you, but sin of any kind is offensive to God. Those words David uttered often come to mind in those times.

Psalm 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

His silence does not judge but that does not stop me from judging myself. It is difficult not to blame myself for God’s silence. God is not wrong to be silent. What is God saying in the sound of silence?

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Perhaps it is nothing more than God’s way of asking me to change the conversation.

Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

God not only knows everything we say but everything we think and feel, so why should we exalt and praise Him?

If you think that the primary reason is so that others will hear our witness, be not surprised if I tell you that is the secondary reason. The primary reason is because of our human nature. We are weak, beggarly, flighty, forgetful and easily distracted.

Look how easy it is to fall off the wagon of determination. Will power is not our strong suit. We are creatures of habit however and if we can get in the habit of exalting and praising Him, then the only danger we run is insincerity.

Being sincere in exaltation and praise is neither a matter of will nor habit, it is a matter of character. Be that person who is the new creation which God has transformed. The new creature with the new nature, who is not outwardly appearing but inwardly real.

Ephesians 3:16-19 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Would you rather be filled with God or full of yourself?

That is not a mere matter of determination, it takes humility and submission. God will do in you everything required to conform you if you surrender to His will.

Ephesians 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;