When God seems Silent

One of the most difficult seasons in the life of a Christian is when God seems silent. And the fact is, those seasons when God seems silent are usually when we think we need Him to speak the most. God is usually silent to us when we are in a trial. Indeed, I have found that the silence of God, and my inability to understand Him can, in itself, become a greater trial than any circumstances.

Actually, what I am describing is THE TRIAL OF FAITH. A trial of faith, when everything is said and done, is not a struggle over circumstances – the real struggle is not to make circumstances work out, or to make suffering end. The trial of faith has to do with what is going on between myself and God. The circumstances are simply the venue. FAITH is at issue in any trial of faith – my FAITH in God is what is being TRIED or PROVEN.
If there is one thing that is a trial of faith it is the silence of God. When God is silent the enemy will come in and play upon our fears. The suggestion will be that God is not really with us, and the silence is proof of it. And the questioning and the doubting will arise. But again, this is all the trial of faith. "Hath God said…" This is the mantra of Satan. Well, when God is silent we know HE HAS SAID. But what makes it hard is that He is not presently speaking when we seem to need Him the most.

Most of us would just like God to come down and simply tell us what to do in situations. We would accept any answer, as long as we know it is from God. Or, and this is just as common, we would like God to just prove He is there. In a trial of faith, the silence of God makes it seem like we are in a losing situation with no way out. And God seems indifferent.

Now, if you have encountered such a trial, and have gone through it in a blaze of glory, never having any doubts, and never facing any challenges, congratulations. But the real truth is, that any trial of faith is absolutely geared to bringing out the worst in us. If we aren’t presently questioning God, the trial of our faith will bring questions, and will hit us right where we are weak, or at least hit us right where we have been passive and blind.
This might seem bad. But it is actually good. For you see, a trial of faith isn’t a matter of God tempting us, or testing us to see whether we will break. No. A trial of faith is the way God builds faith. And faith can only be built if we are faced with every question and every challenge. Faith isn’t real unless it is tested by circumstances, the enemy, and especially by our own flesh and emotions. Once it is tested, then as gold is tried by fire, our faith will then be more pure. It will be a PROVEN FAITH.

God PROVES faith. But in order to do so, all of our faith in all else must be exposed as folly. We must be exposed as frauds so that our faith can then truly be in Christ. All of our motives of self-interest with God must be brought out into the light. And of course, God will be revealed to us all the more as fully FAITHFUL. But none of this is possible on paper. It is not possible simply because I know the teaching. No. This is about relationship with God. That has to be built and proven.

The trial of faith will always include the silence of God. You can bank on it. But it ought to be encouraging to know that the silence of God is NORMAL in a trial of faith. Thus, it is not a signal that something is necessarily wrong. It is likely a sign that everything is right. God is proving our faith. He is, if you know what I mean, trusting us with a silence.
To be continued....





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