A little Hamaan music, please!

I was blessed to go to Israel in 2006.  We happened to be present for the feast of Purim.  The kids dress up as characters from the book of Esther and go to synagogue laden with noisemakers.  Everybody brings noisemakers!  The book of Esther is then read aloud, and every time the name of Hamaan is read, they stomp their feet, whirl their noisemakers, and hiss, drowning out every trace of him.

The children learn from this, first - that God loves a good party, and second - that even when His is not seen or mentioned, He is in absolute control.

The "Wailing Wall"

In our lives, we tend not to mention suffering or disease as "coming from God."  We ask Him to deliver us from this evil and try to drown it out with noise and prayer.  But I am slowly learning that, sometimes, this very illness is the answer to some of the deepest prayers of my heart, and even if He is not seen or mentioned, He has absolute control over the intensity and duration of anything He allows into my life.

I am learning that He is moving in dynamic ways, just beyond my range of vision, yet is as close as breathing.  He is never so near or tender as when He is silent and unseen.

And Jesus, Who knows what it means to be alone, helpless and in pain, can minister to us through His Holy Spirit when we open ourselves to Him.  Trusting Him, silent and unseen, allows us to praise and turn from even severe pain to worship.  I'm not saying the pain goes away, but being in the awesome one-to-one presence of God moves my spirit to a different place altogether.

I pray that you will find this to be an effective weapon - for we enter into His presence with praise and thanksgiving.