When God Seems Silent

I mean, I know He's still there and here and everywhere, but what about those times when He doesn't seem to be speaking to my situation, my trial?

So how does He speak to me? How do I know when He's connecting with me?

1. An awareness of His presence- Most all of the time, I have a sense of Him being in me and with me. It just a knowing beyond words. I love it which means I love Him, being with Him.

2. The nudge- You know, that nudge in your heart that is laced with His love and kindness and protection? It's that nudge in your heart that wants some kind of a response. Sometimes the nudge is telling me to make a phone call or text someone. It's a prompting and impression on my heart that interrupts my thoughts. If I initially disregard the nudge, if it's Him, He gently sustains the nudge until I respond.

3. An "aha" in my heart when reading His Word- I love it when I’m reading the Bible and I come across a verse and He, His Spirit personalizes that verse to me and my situation. It feels like the verse that I read a bunch of times before, now is clear and understandable and totally applies to me and what I’m going through.

4. Hearing His Voice- Yes, I said "Hearing His voice.”" Did I really hear His voice? The best way I can describe it I heard in my heart clearly. There wasn't a voice tone; it was a knowing that I heard. I remember back in my early 20's when I was going through a season of wondering whether I was ever going to get married. I was even fearing that He might ask me to be celibate my whole life (what could be worse?!). So there I was in my parents' house visiting for the Holidays. I decided to sleep on the couch that night. I had just turned out the lights and was settling in for a night's sleep when "I heard" clearly "Proverbs 18:22". I had no idea what the verse was or what it said. I got up and got my Bible and found the verse. I was so wonderfully dumbfounded. It says, "He who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." So not only did He speak to me, He spoke to me directly about my situation and struggle. How personable! How meaningful! How timely! So, not only was OK to get married. Getting married increased favor from the Lord!

5. Creation- I'm not much of an "outdoors man" but when I'm in and around creation, wow! How can you not feel His presence? I even experience His presence sometime when I watch the History Channel.

6. People in conversations- Over the years, the Lord have spoken to me through people. Most of the time they probably don't know God is using them in such a way. This confirms that it is the Lord at work.

7. Sermons- I think a lot of people have gone to church and heard a particular sermon and wondered if the preacher had a conversation about us with one of our family or friends. The message was that specific and personal to our situation. I love it when the Lord communicates this way.

So, when He seems silent, when He isn't communicating to me when I feel like I need Him the most, what am I to make of it? Usually these "seasons of silence" seem to occur during the most difficult times. I really don't think it's a "spiritual warfare" issue. I think He's up to something. I think He's initiating the silence, because even in the midst of the silence, there's no sense of abandonment.

It's Ok not to know why the silence seems so pronounced. It doesn't last forever. That I know. When there is silence, there's peace- peace that it's going to be OK. There's the peace that the day will come when He breaks the silence. Maybe then, I get context as to why the silence. But if I don't know why, that's ok too. It's because the silence takes me deeper into knowing Him deeply.

Silence is ok when you're secure. I’m ok with silence when I’m around my wife because I’m not worried about how she feels about me. I feel awkward when I have someone in my car, just the two of us, and there's silence. Why? It's because I'm not secure about the relationship.
When He is silent, I feel secure about how He feels about me. When He's silent, I don't doubt His love or commitment to me. When He's silent, I look forward to when He speaks again.