Surely there have been times in your life that you have asked the question of the ages:
Why is God silent?
Does He not hear me? My prayers are not being answered, maybe He doesn’t love me. Have I done something wrong?
- I don’t feel Him.
- I don’t hear Him.
- I definitely don’t see Him.
I am surely all alone in this world!
Haven’t we all been there? Maybe we have even lived there for a time? It isn’t easy.
Can we say it can be just plain difficult?
I am not one of those that is fortunate enough to hear the Lord speak in an audible voice to me every morning and say, “Good morning Nannette, time to get up, Sweet Daughter of Mine! Here is what I have planned for you today…”
But He does speak to us, in a variety of ways, mostly through His Word and prayer. And the two of them together? Even better chance you will hear that still, small voice of the Lord.
But sometimes, there is silence; and He is teaching us to trust Him.
Do you remember Thomas? Poor Thomas is still getting picked on as The Doubter. He said he wouldn’t believe that Jesus was alive unless he could see the nail marks in his hands and put his hand in his side. But Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 NIV.
Compare it to a marriage relationship. If your spouse is away on a trip, are you panicked that they don’t love you anymore?
- You can’t feel them next to you.
- You can’t see them.
- You can’t talk to them if they are busy or in meetings.
- You can’t hear them.
Does that mean that just because there is silence that their love means nothing any longer? Of course not.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Would it not be wonderful to think that the Lord is preparing us in the silence, to teach us to long for Him?
Of course, we want to be sure that there is not something keeping us from hearing from the Lord.
- If there is sin, repent.
- If there is anger, get rid of it.
- If there is someone you need to forgive, go do it.
Clean up the heart. Draw nigh to Him and He will draw nigh to you. His Word promises that.
Can we trust God even when we don’t hear from Him? When we don’t feel Him every day? He promised to never leave us or forsake us, when there is silence we lean on His promises!
Can we keep on loving Him, serving Him, telling others about Him, just because we love Him, and not because He owes us anything in return?
C.S. Lewis said, “Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.”
He never changes, He is always the same. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. And in an ever-changing world that is full to the brim of uncertainty, we can encourage one another by reminding ourselves of His faithfulness and remembering prayers that He has answered in the past.
You can trust Him, even in the silence.
Happy Thanksgiving 🍁🦃🍽 friend!
Thanks! I took that in Estonia and thought it was perfect for that quote. Love Corrie ten Boom 😊
So sorry I missed this comment. Thank you so much. We were missionary furlough replacements in Estonia and Latvia for a season and that is an old Soviet train we took back and forth to services. The snow that day was insanely deep and I was able to get some beautiful pictures. 😉
I was thinking of you the other day! Good to hear from you and I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving ❤️
Hi Nannette!!!!
Nancy Warkentin here❤️
Beautiful post/words. Thank you for the blessing of this word!
Beautiful post — and I love the picture of the train in the snow. I agree silence can be a space and time God uses to increase our longing for Him and build trust. I really like what you’ve said here.
Jeannie (#47 in the FMF linkup this week)
Love the silence image you created – excellent. Love the Ten Boom quote as well. Neighbors at Kate’s.
Thank you Nanette for this thought provoking post. I love the quote by C.S. Lewis at the end which is the promise to hold onto in the silence. His love doesn’t change. Blessings to you, my FMF neighbor💙
Beautiful post, Nannette! And it spoke to my heart yet again 🙂 Always grateful for your words! Blessings!
I’ve learned 3 things about silence: 1) it can mean “No” because there is no answer to a request; 2) it can mean “learn”; you need to find the missing part to the puzzle; and, the last few years it has taught me it means “wait” as in the journey of an answered prayer sent out and the interim before it returns answered:) I love this word: your post goes straight to my heart!
Great Post! It is so important to not live based on our feelings but what we know is true, His love never fails!
Thank you for sharing!
Isn’t it beautiful! My graphics designer is amazing…scripturesquegraphics.com! You are right, get rid of what keeps us from hearing HIS voice. Thank you for your insights and your support and encouragement Ceil. Always appreciate it! ♥
Hi Nannette! I love that photo on the pier! It looks so solitary, your point exactly.
Sometimes ‘hearing God’s voice’ gets to be an Olympic sport. Who hears him clearest? Who hears him the most? So honest to just say, you know, it’s not like that for me. We should all be so honest!
So true that we should rid ourselves of what blocks his voice. Anger, grudges…such good points.
Great post today! From Winsome Wednesdays,
Ceil
Thank you Candace, it does make is nervous when we think God doesn’t hear us when in fact He is right beside us. Glad you were encouraged today, now I am heading over to see what Candace creates!
Love that! Quiet every other voice and let me hear yours. And the beauty is that it works!! Bless you for sharing!
So true, walk by faith, not by sight!! Amen! Thank you for that reminder! Blessings to you for stopping by!
You are not alone dear friend…so many of us feel that way but it is a trick of the enemy! We are never alone and never forgotten. Keep trusting and remembering His promises! He is faithful!
I love that song too! A friend sang it at a luncheon my sister was speaking at and she played the acoustic and sang as beautiful as Kari Jobe! I recorded it on my iPhone and played it over and over this week it blessed me so much! THank you for taking time to comment sweet friend!! Blessings to you for all the blessing you have been to me!
Thank you so much for these words of encouragement! I must admit God’s silence makes me incredibly nervous. I completely agree with you that “it is a time for trusting” and I will keep that thought with me.
So beautifully written and encouraging. Sometimes I ask God to quiet every voice whirling around in my head that I will hear His alone….which always brings peace and assurance.
I have been thinking about this lately, and how we are called to walk by faith. When God is silent and my flesh is hating is and I am yearning for more, I remember that in this life, I walk by faith, not by sight. And I am practicing trusting Him! Thank you so much for this!
I often struggle with this.
Wow! Thank you so much for this post, Candace! I particularly love the spouse analogy you used. It was something I’m sure a lot of your readers could understand easily. I LOVE that song by Kari Jobe and listened to it about a million times last week when I felt God was silent. Thank you for the reminder that I can trust in God’s love for me even when I don’t feel it.
Love you!
To this very day…I love that Joanne! All too often we listen to that “voice” and the more we listen the more we believe it is telling us the truth. We have to speak to the enemy and tell him to get behind us just as the Word declares and put those “whatsoever things” in our minds on a daily basis. It sure makes a big difference! Blessings to you for your insight today!
We surely do need each other! We can learn and glean from one another. Thank you dear sister. Blessings to you for a new week!
Oh I like that! Get loud about Him! Glad you liked my post…but you didn’t say anything about my image…lol. It’s the best! Love you Carol!
I have never read that but I love it! Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to comment. It means so much to have the interaction! I pray we all remember He is just “wooing” us at times back to Him…blessings!
This is a very encouraging post, my friend, I am living in that silence right now… I know God loves us and I tell Him every morning when I pray that I don’t doubt that one bit… but I still need to know what His will is. We feel very strongly that we are in for a change, my husband and I, but which way to go is the question.
I have to smile when I read “christian” novels and God speaks to people continually… I’d like to know someone who hears from God that often.
Have a beautiful day.
Thank you Nanette, I needed to read this today………right where I’m at!
Kim
Wow! You have expressed perfectly how every human has felt from time to time in their lives.
My dear and sweet friend, I am learning that the Lord shows Himself to us through others like yourself. We can hear His voice through those that love Him and love others with His love.
You are a blessing from the Lord.
God’s peace
Melissa Sue
I remember reading in one of Phillip Yancey’s books years ago that “God is shy.” And what he meant by that is – God wants us to pursue Him. I pray that I am pursuing Him, Nanette. And your words draw me in that direction–inspiring me and reminding me of what is true. Thanks for this encouragement, my friend. It feels like a “cyber-hug.” 🙂
I think that the best way to get over what we perceive as the silence of God is to get loud about Him! Awesome Post!!!!!
You have shared some great points to think about this morning. When God is silent in my life & the enemy tries to get me to doubt, I remind myself that Jesus said this, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” (John 5:17 NIV). I love that He is at work TO THIS VERY DAY. That means today & each & every day of our lives.
Hold on to that truth, sweet friend,
Joanne