God's Silence

 Malachi 4:6 (NASB)

⁶  "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse."

Those were the last words God spoke for centuries between the period of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Think of it. No fresh words from the Lord. Silence. Year after year. Decade after decade. Century after century. Nothing new. Only stale left-over messages from years gone by that had been rehashed over and over again. Prayers for revelation were not answered. Pleas went unheeded. Fasting did not make a difference either. God chose silence. 

During those centuries, it would have been easy to interpret God's silence as His absence. That is what we often do. We cry out to God from our distress and plead for counsel, wisdom, and instructions about what to do. Many times, God responds to these fervent pleas with complete silence. Not a word. Not a hint. 

I know of a young couple pleading with God for direction about a career path. God has not answered them. They are unsure of what direction to go. Confused. Frustrated and paralyzed in knowing what steps to take next. 

I just left the prayer room at Spring Creek a short time ago. My main purpose in going there was to hear from God. I left later disappointed. Not a word. Not a hint. Not a nudge nor a whisper. 

Just because God is silent does not mean God is not working. Read John 5:17. 

 

John 5:17 (NASB)
¹⁷  But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."

God is always working. Before Genesis 1:1, God was working. He has been working through history since then. In those centuries of silence between the Old and New Testaments God was also working. Preparing the stage for the prophetic fulfillment of the birth of His Son. Everything had to be just right. The virgin Mary had to be born. The census had to be ordered. The shepherds had to be summoned. God waited patiently for the appointed time. He remained silent refusing to shed further light.

We lose sight of what God is doing when He is silent. We think He has forgotten us. We muse that He has abandoned us. Neither of those is true. 

Let me illustrate this for you. There was a period between 2014-2016 when God was silent to me. It was a long dark night of the soul. He gave me messages to preach, but no personal words. I read through the Bible three times those years seeking answers and direction. He remained tight-lipped. 

A friend of mine and I went to the mountains of New Mexico for a prayer retreat. I spent my days crying out to God. Even going on top of a mountain and sitting on rocks just to listen. The scenery was breathtaking. If there was any place in the world, I thought God would speak to me, it was there. I left that mountain despondent. Not a word. It seemed God would never break His silence. 

Plans got rearranged on the way home. Some friends invited me to spend the night with them before going home. This meant adding one additional day to my trip. My friend dropped me off and I went to my host's house. They had a busy weekend and wanted to take a nap that afternoon. I told them I wanted to go on the back porch to pray. Little did I know what God was about to do. 

After I prayed a bit, I opened my Bible and started reading where I had left off previously. That is when I came across [John 5:17]. God stopped me in my tracks. He broke His silence. He reminded me that from Creation to the current state of affairs He has always worked and is still working. That encounter with God lasted eight hours. I ended up teaching a Bible study over it later that evening on that back porch. That turned out to be one of the most profound God encounters I have ever had. It came right on the heels of a drought of God's silence. 

I look back on that period five years later. It is amazing all the ways I have seen God work during that time. It is also encouraging to remind myself of all that God has spoken during that time. I have never been more contented in my whole life. Contented with family. Contented in ministry. 

I still endure seasons of God's silence. I know how to process it better. I know that after prolonged periods of His absence, a greater revelation and encounter are just ahead. He may have been silent in the prayer room today, but He may blow me away tonight or in the morning. He is not absent. He is aways working, even when He is silent. Be encouraged brothers and sisters. Your long awaited breakthrough may be just around corner.