Zondervan Inspire

God's Silent Work

Fanny Crosby was not content to be a victim. She voraciously memorized five books of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament by the time she was ten years old. She attended the New York Institute for the Blind, where she became a teacher and gifted poet. After surviving the cholera epidemic in 1849, Fanny realized something was missing in her life and turned to Christ at the age of 30. God had been silently working in her heart. The poetry that formerly flowed from her heart turned into hymns of praise, many of which we still sing today.

In Genesis 41 we see God silently working in Joseph's life. Joseph could have grown bitter and inflamed by the dreadful circumstances of his life. But amazingly, Joseph experienced God's silent work as much in slavery and in prison as he did when he rose to prominence.

Whatever your circumstances, you can trust that God is working behind the scenes. When you experience trouble—and you will—God can make you fruitful and full of praise, just as he did with Joseph and with Fanny Crosby.

From New Women's Devotional Bible

New International Version (NIV™)
Most read. Most trusted.
Celebrating 30 Years
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Create Space for God

Spiritual disciplines are time-honored practices that help us create space for God, internalize his truth, and obey him with courage and consistency. The disciplines are not self-improvement techniques. Rather, they are ways in which we try to cooperate with the movement of the Spirit in our lives. Perhaps a tiny bit of pastoral advice is appropriate here. We must each find out which disciplines work best for us as unique individuals. This is not the same as saying that everyone should gravitate to what they find easiest. Often God challenges us at the points of our weakness. But we should be attentive to which disciplines seem to be most satisfying and fruitful for us as individuals. And secondly, we should not be so ambitious as to set ourselves up for failure. It is better to attempt baby steps than giant leaps forward.

From A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality: Three Dimensions of Life with God

by Glen G. Scorgie

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