This week I’ll be sharing about an evergreen topic in a Christian’s life. It’s one I speak on at retreats and conferences and one that we all unfortunately can relate to…Those times when God is silent.
We’ve all been there. Some of us are there now. But seasons of silence often speak louder than words. When we feel as though we are going through a season of silence, we begin to question everything. Yet God’s Word is not silent about those times when He is.
Walk with me through this week’s study as we shed some spiritual light on those dark places of silence. Perhaps you’ll soon begin to tilt the ear of your heart upward and hear the still small voice of God again.
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While recently thumbing through an old prayer journal, I was reminded of a very difficult time in my life when our son had drifted far from God and far from all he knew to be right and good. I never even saw it coming…he had become a prodigal. Night after night, I soaked my pillow with tears and wore holes in the carpet next to my bed where I cried out to the Living God to do something in his life. But nothing happened. God was silent.
We’ve all been there. Desperate to see God move. Crying out for heavenly help, yet nothing seems to happen and we begin to wonder if God even cares. Does He see us? Why won’t He answer us? We know the Bible teaches us that God’s sheep hear His voice. So, what’s going on when we can’t hear Him? Why is it that we experience seasons of silence?
Oftentimes, God’s silence seems to be selective. It’s somehow compartmentalized into specific areas. Sometimes His silence shows up in the form of unanswered prayer. Perhaps you have experienced God’s silence in the area of your marriage, your finances or your children.
Let’s look at what Scripture says about the reasons why God may choose to be silent in various areas of our lives:
THE SIN FACTOR:
When we are baffled by God’s silence, we normally begin flittering through the mental files in our minds. “What have I done wrong?” “Do I have any sin in my life?” “Is God chastening me because of some hidden sin?”
Sin has the capacity to create a barrier in our fellowship with the Living God. Sometimes it is sin that prevents us from hearing God’s voice. But 1 John 1:9 provides us with a remedy to restore that fractured fellowship and re-establish that line of communication. If sin has somehow silenced the voice of God in your life, it would be to your advantage to employ 1 John 1:9 now. No sin is worth the inability to hear from your loving, heavenly Father.
LIVING LOUD LIVES
There are times when God is silent in our lives because our lives are just so loud. Let’s face it, we’re all busy…maybe too busy. We’ve got distractions coming to us from every direction. We’re constantly on the go. We allow our lives to be so loud that we drown out the still small voice of God and then wonder why we can’t hear from Him.
Psalm 46:10 tells us to be still and know that He is God…to bask in His presence and to abide in under the shadow of the Almighty. There we will find rest for our souls and give our hearts time enough to be attentive to His coveted voice.
This week you’ll have a chance to examine your life. Is your life too loud right now? Are you holding on to something that’s preventing you from hearing the still small voice of God? Are you experiencing your own season of silence?
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Tomorrow, we will look at some other reasons Scripture explains why we may experience seasons of silence from God. Don’t miss this journey, sweet friend!
When I logged on to FB this morning, this topic flashed at me like a neon sign. I spent the entire weekend wrestling through this very thing. Last week marked exactly 3 years since the start of the most difficult journey of my adult life. God hasn’t been silent through the entire journey, as it has clearly been a journey to allow the deepest, most lasting change to take place in my life. I have lived the reality that “everything doesn’t have to be well with your circumstances, to be well with your soul.” BUT, at times, (like this weekend), the reality of God’s silence in these circumstances hits me hard. Really hard. Did you know it’s actually possible to feel numb and pain at the same time? Oddly, it is. ;-) YET, it drives me to Him. To seek Him, even in His silence (or perceived silence). I’m looking forward to this week’s series. You had me at, “When God is Silent.” ;-) Thank you Stephanie!!
Hi Shelly!
I’ve been in my own season of silence is some different areas of my life too. Some for years! Silence is such a painful and sometimes frustrating place to be. And you are SO right…sometimes the waves of the reality of His silence hits us hard, yet drives us to Him.
When I speak on this, I often find almost every woman there is either knee deep in their own season of silence or just coming out of one.
I still think you and I are close enough to catch a cup of coffee and talk Jesus and ministry one day! :-)
Stephanie, we tend to write and speak about what we need most in our lives, or have learned from that very deep well of pain or experience, don’t we? Every video Blog, message or article I write, is really for me. ;-)
And … I agree. I think we are close enough to catch a cup of coffee. :-) Between our precious Jesus and what He’s done in our lives, and ministry, we certainly would not lack things to talk about. I’m actually pondering how we can make this happen in the near future. ;-)
More often than not the silence I perceive involves a life too busy and loud to hear. Looking forward to this series. :)
Hi Leigh Ann ~ Our busy, loud lives really do tend to drown out the still small voice of God. I know my life gets crazy busy, but I start feeling like that dry, barren picture and need to quickly run to the Well that never runs dry! Basking in His presence, enjoying being with Him!
This week, we’ll get to examine several reasons and several biblical examples that can help us through our own seasons of silence. Glad you’re joining the conversation!
Hope to hear from you throughout the week! :-)
I am looking forward to this week as well. What caught me was the “Loud Lives”. I never even thought that even though, your busy life is filled with serving God, doesn’t mean that it isn’t still too busy. I am one of those “busy” and “on the go” people. But I have recently realized that I need to “slow down” and “be still” in order to hear what God has to say. And I have learned from recent experience that sometimes God makes you “be still”. At first I thought it was a bad thing, but came to realize it was the most “growing” time I have had in a long time.
Hi Amanda! So glad to see you here at Scripture Dig! You are SO right… Sometimes God makes us be ‘still’ so we can be in a place where we can listen to Him.
Funny thing is that we are so blessed when we do hear His voice, I often wonder why I let myself get too busy to hear Him in the first place!
I often wonder the same thing. It’s that flesh that takes over!