When God is Silent
Marcel was let go after his company downsized. As a seasoned veteran in the field, he assumed his seniority would play to his advantage in finding a new position quickly. But just the opposite has proven true—nobody’s hiring. Maybe, he thinks, companies are looking for a younger catch who’s more moldable and can give more years to the team. Whatever the case, finances are tight for Marcel and his wife. Too much longer and they might just lose their house. For now, he’s waiting.
Tiffany’s parents raised her in a churchgoing home, and from an early age she grew up learning about the love of Jesus. But once she hit adolescence, something changed. Tiffany started on a rebellious streak that never let up, even past college. In that time, she drifted away from her family and walked away from the Lord. During the brief moments that her parents get to see her these days, Tiffany’s always angry and she doesn’t want anything to do with them. At this point, her parents think it will take a miracle for their relationship to be restored. For now, they’re waiting.
Jill lost her 30-year-old daughter after a long battle with an autoimmune disease had left her bedridden for years. But her husband Matthew’s battle was not so drawn out. After they had buried their daughter together, Matthew was suddenly diagnosed with an advanced-stage cancer that had metastasized throughout his body. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. Now Jill sits in her empty home full of questions, trying to process her grief and see God’s hand in all of this. For now, she’s waiting.
Whether great or small, we’re all waiting on something. Everyone has unresolved questions and prayers awaiting answers. But when it feels like God is far away, even unresponsive, it can seem like there’s no end in sight.
LONGEST DAY IN HISTORY
Jesus’ disciples knew what it was like to wait on God. Imagine that devastating day after Jesus was put to death. Try placing yourself in Peter’s shoes. What questions would be racing through your mind?
The Bible gives us only one brief remark about how Jesus’ followers spent that Saturday between the cross and the empty tomb: “...But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” (Luke 23:56 NIV®) Saturday was the Hebrew day of rest, so the disciples had no choice but to remain quietly at home. Though, it’s hard to imagine they were anything but restless on that sorrowful Sabbath day.
We have the privilege of knowing the full story. We can turn the page and read Friday and Saturday in light of Easter Sunday. But right there in the midst of it, the disciples faced the greatest crisis their faith had ever known. It looked as though their greatest fears had come true. Maybe Jesus wasn’t who He said He was after all? Maybe God Himself had been defeated at the cross? On Saturday, Jesus’ tomb echoed with a deafening silence.
WHAT NOW?
What should we do when it seems like God has walked away? How should we respond when it looks like His promises aren’t coming true, or it feels like He just doesn’t care?
The honest answer is, there aren’t any quick solutions in quiet seasons of waiting and wondering. When we enter the wilderness of unrealized hopes and unanswered questions, the journey always looks a bit different. But three principles can help carry us through.
1. KEEP YOUR RHYTHM
In God’s perfect timing, Jesus’ body was laid to rest right before the Sabbath. In one sense, this adds a whole new layer of meaning to Genesis 2:2 NIV®, “...on the seventh day he rested from all his work.”
God gave His people a Sabbath day to give them a weekly rhythm for all seasons of life, from the best of times to the worst of times. Even as the disciples bore heavy sorrow, they held onto that teaching and rested amidst their grief. On that Sabbath day when God Himself seemed silent, maybe Jesus’ words echoed in their ears: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV®)
When you’re feeling lost, stick to a rhythm. Keep going. Just hold on. There in the moment, it all looks out of control. We want answers today, and it feels like an eternity of waiting when we focus on the silence itself. But when we hold to a rhythm of prayer, of coming to the Word, and of remaining in community, God draws us back to His steadfast promises which serve as “...an anchor for the soul, firm and secure...” (Hebrews 6:19 NIV®).
2. SING TO THE SILENCE
God gave His people the Sabbath not only to be a time of rest, but also a day of worship. When we imagine worship, we tend to picture shouts of exuberant joy, belting out our praises to the Lord in happy thanksgiving. But how do we worship with a heavy heart?
The Psalms are encouraging in how they respond to the seeming silence of God. Rather than sitting idly by, waiting for the stillness to pass, they sing to the silence with refreshing honesty: “My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long?” (Psalm 6:3 NIV®) There’s a Psalm and a hymn and a worship song for every sigh of the soul, reminding us that everything can be turned into worship— even our angst, even our longing, even our fear and heartache and dread.
Worship draws our hearts outward and upward, shifting our focus to a God who remains faithful when the whole world looks out of order. Even if things don’t make sense right now, we know the truth:
He is in control, He is good, and He has a purpose for the hang-ups and the drawn- out desires.
3. LET GO OF LOOSE ENDS
This one’s the hardest of them all, but it’s absolutely key. We simply don’t know all the twists and turns God will take us through as He fulfills His perfect plan for our lives. We don’t know how long it will be before His work in progress finds a resolution.
For the disciples, God resolved their doubt and confusion after the longest day of their lives. The darkness of Saturday drifted gradually away; at daybreak the hope of Easter dawned. When daylight finally came, it shone all the brighter for the men who had faced the darkness of Saturday’s silence.
Sometimes the silence lasts longer than we would have expected. Sometimes it’s the most dragged-out day of our lives; sometimes it stretches on for months, even years. In seasons of silence, we’re reminded that we aren’t God—but we know who is. The Father who loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). The Lord who will never leave us, never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). The God who works everything together for our good (Romans 8:28). And so we find the freedom to surrender our longing to Him. God doesn’t promise to show us how it all comes together in the here and now, but He promises the long wait will finally come to a close, and it will all be worth it in the end. He is in control and His plan is good. So whatever Saturday looks like for you today, rest in the promise that this season holds: Sunday is coming. It’s on its way. “...weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5 NIV®) The living hope of daybreak drives us on.