Our culture expects everything to move quickly–fast food, high-speed internet, same-day delivery. Want to test our patience? Make us wait longer than 5 minutes in the drive-thru, see us figure out what to do when the internet is down, or delay an expected package by a few days. Patience diminishes when fast-paced expectations aren’t met.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we want the Lord to operate in the same speedy way. We look for answers to our prayers as soon as the words leave our mouths. The heavier the burden of the prayer, the quicker we expect results. But sometimes God is silent. Weighty words for people who seek immediacy. In God’s silence, we can start to lose hope. When His answers don’t come quickly, we can feel abandoned, unloved, unimportant. Doubt creeps in, challenging our faith and giving rise to questions. Has God left me alone? Does he still love me? Is He ever going to answer?
When we sit in our fears and doubts too long, we can get lost there, feeling like we’re the only ones experiencing a delay in answers to our prayers. We falsely believe God’s silence means He’s not listening to us.
Here are a few scripture truths to hold onto in seasons of silence:
Just Because He’s Silent Doesn’t Mean He’s Absent
Children can delight their parents and disappoint them; draw near to them or distance themselves from mom and dad, but one thing remains - a parent's love for their child. How much more the love of a perfect Father! When our doubts tell us He has abandoned us in His silence, the Bible tells us otherwise.
“For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.” Romans 8:38-39 (The Living Bible)
Just Because He’s Silent Doesn’t Mean He’s Indifferent
When we’re struggling to believe we are important to the Lord, remember that out of everything God has created, we were the only ones created in His image. In Matthew 6:26, Jesus Himself tells us, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”. The value He sees in us and indifference cannot coexist.
Just Because He’s Silent Doesn’t Mean His Answer Isn’t Coming
Between the Old Testament and the New Testament hangs 400 years of silence. After all of the messages God delivered to His people, no more words. For about 20 generations, God remained quiet. But it didn’t mean He had forgotten His promise to send a rescuer. It just wasn’t time…yet. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5.
If you are in a season filled with His silence, be patient and remember He is not absent or indifferent, and no matter how quietly, He is working behind the scenes for your best and His glory. During this time hold on to His hope even tighter. He loves you, he cares for you, and His answer will come at just the right time.
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