When God Is Silent

  

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130: 5).

Have you wondered what God is doing when you can’t see him? Have you ever felt that He is too busy to answer your cry for help? Have you felt forgotten in this crazy world? We all feel that way at times.

 

The silence may be what pushes us to dig deeper, like a growing plant in search of water. It could be that the answers are before our eyes, but we are too human to see what God wants us to see. Maybe we are looking with our eyes instead of our heart. It might not be time for God to reveal what he has for you.

It’s not easy to wait, especially when God is silent, but experience tells us that it will be worth it. We know that our impatience will only get in the way of what he plans to do with us. We can try to hurry him along, but we’ll only end up feeling frustrated. The truth is that we should only want what he wants for us. True happiness lies in resting in his will, in his hands, on his path, in his time.

We deal with situations and ask for guidance, or comfort, and all we get is silence. It makes us wonder if He is even there. However, He has always, historically, shown Himself and then hidden Himself. And historically, we have had our worst trials when we have had to go by faith alone, without external confirmations or emotional highs.

I selected the Genesis passage today because I wanted to point our something very significant—there is no mention of God speaking to Noah once He shut him and his family in the boat. For one hundred and ninety days, God is silent. In fact God doesn’t speak to Noah again until Genesis 8:15, which is one year and twelve days after being sheltered away in the ark. That gives me pause—how would I hold up under such a trial?

Did you know that Abraham, after God told him to start on his journey to an unknown destination, God didn’t speak to him for a long time? Abraham had to go it without God’s direct intervention and face constant attackers.

God didn’t speak to Israel during the 400 years of slavery in Egypt, but He still knew about their plight and prepared for them a deliverer. Moses didn’t hear from God for 40 years while he was tending sheep in the desert for his father-in-law.

When Joseph was thrown in a pit, sold into slavery, and placed in prison, God wasn’t speaking to him. He had to go by faith the entire time, believing that what everyone else intended as evil for him, God would use it for his (and his nation’s and family’s) salvation.

When David faced Goliath, God didn’t part the clouds and shine a light down and give him instructions. He already knew the God he had been praising with his harp, and who had proven Himself against a bear and a lion, would prove Himself faithful again – without saying an additional heavenly word.

When Daniel and his friends were thrown into the fire, there was no voice from heaven. The only thing they had was God’s word in their hearts and memories of God’s faithfulness to them. They were expected to act on what they already knew and believed – to walk by faith and not by sight.

You can’t have faith in what you see – that’s not faith. You can only have faith when you can’t see. I’ve heard it said that without doubt, faith is impossible. If you can’t doubt it, then you can’t have faith in it. Confusing? Not really.

Father,

I don’t like times of silence. There is no gift greater than experiencing Your presence, and when You feel far away it makes me sad. Please do what You need to with me and empower me to love you well when you feel far away, even as I love You when You feel close. But please don’t let these seasons last a moment longer than is necessary for Your purposes to be accomplished in me.