Silence

Intro

*Long pause*

Silence can be kind of awkward can’t it. because when there’s silence it leaves us unsure of what’s going to happen. For example when I came up here you weren’t sure what exactly I was going to do but the silence certainly wasn’t expected.

And when I was silent you still didn’t know what to expect, was I going to talk eventually, was I having some kind of nervous breakdown? and yet you didn’t start talking you waited, because you knew I had a message to preach. Many times we face the same thing with God, he becomes silent and we don’t know what to expect. Today that’s what I want to talk about The Silence of God. And I think I’m going to make this two parts, the first being what do we do when God’s quiet, and next week I’ll be talking about what God does when we’re quiet.

The Story of Moses

Sometimes in our lives when God is silent it can put us on edge, because we read through the bible and see how active God is through it and it makes us wonder why he’s so active then and not now.

For example as Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt God revealed himself over and over again and while they were in the wilderness God continued to reveal himself constantly. However we fail to remember the times when God was silent. Like when Moses went up onto the mountain to receive the 10 commandments.

Let’s read Deut 9:9-18

Deuteronomy 9:9–18 (ESV)

9 When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 And the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words that the Lord had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’

13 “Furthermore, the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stubborn people. 14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’ 15 So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes. 18 Then I lay prostrate before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin that you had committed, in doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger.

Moses spent 40 days and nights fasting, before God finally gave him the ten commandments. Then when he broke the tablet he spent another 40 days and nights not only waiting but interceding for the people of Israel before God again gave him the tablets.

So it’s encouraging to see the man that God selected to lead his people faced silence at times. and you notice that God waited for Moses to come and submit himself to him. So I want you to write this down, God waits for us to submit to him. Now this may not always be the case, because we know that God seeks after us, but many times for us believers facing silence it is a matter of us going to him.

Story of Job

And I assume most people here know or may even have read the story of Job. If you haven’t Job was very much so blessed by God. Let’s read Job 1:1-3 Which is the book right before Psalms.

Job 1:1–3 ESV

1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.

and because of his faithfulness the devil wanted to test Job and God allowed it in order that Job may show his love and faithfulness. And Job faced sickness and loss of his family and his wealth. and then on top of that he had friends who came and criticized him even his wife told him to curse God and die. and yet Job remains faithful. but even though he remains faithful we still see him curse even his own existence due to the great torment he faced. However in my opinion his greatest battle was that he didn’t see God’s presence. Let’s look at Job 23:8-10

Job 23:8–10 ESV

8 “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; 9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. 10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

And I wish that we all can have the faith of Job when going through moments of Silence. look at verse 9, “One the left hand when he is working I do not behold him” Job understood that God was not silent but he was working behind the scenes. and we see this faithfulness when we continue this passage… Job 23:11-17

Job 23:11–17 ESV

11 My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. 13 But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. 14 For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind. 15 Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. 16 God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; 17 yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face.

Job says regardless of what I go through, regardless of how far away you seem God, I will remain faithful.

and we see that through his struggle Job grows in many ways from contemplating wisdom to praising God though his darkest hours. Now let’s go to Job 38:1-11 because God does answer Job

Job 38:1–11 ESV

1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, 9 when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, 11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

And he continues on like this reminding us that we are in no place to question the almighty God who sees and hears everything, the God who created everything.

So God in response to Job’s cry is a reminder of exactly who he is. and he then blesses Job with twice as much as he had before. and he was silent in order that he may reveal himself to Job, and so that Job may grow in his understanding of him.

So what does all of this tell us? God’s Silence has purpose write that down.

400 Years

Okay now if God’s silence has purpose then what about the 400 years. When I say the 400 years I’m talking about the time between the last prophet Malachi and the coming of Jesus. There are 400 years were no prophet came to instruct at least none we have recorded, and during that time alexander the great had conquered much of the known world, and transportation was greatly enhanced.

However when we begin looking at the many things that happened, these were all things needed to prepare the way for Jesus. lots of it was needed to fulfill the promise of Jesus coming and his crucifixion. So even though God seem silent in that time does not mean that God was not active in that time. God’s silence does not mean that god is absent. So write this down, God works behind the scenes.

What do we do when God is Silent?

So what do we do when god is silent. Or rather what should we do, because what we do is question him, turn away from him, accuse him. but what did Moses do? he came into God’s presence and waited on God to speak praying for the people of Israel.

and what did Job do? he remained faithful, glorifying God regardless of his hard ships.

I remember a time in college where it felt like I was being torn every which way, I didn’t know what my future would hold I didn’t know how I would afford college, I didn’t know wether I should believe this or that, Sierra and I were struggling with a long distance relationship. It was a battle, and I felt as though I was dealing with it by myself because I didn’t see God’s presence. In some ways I even allowed God to become a textbook rather than a living breathing creator.

and then God gave me a reminder 1 Peter 5:6-11

1 Peter 5:6–11 ESV

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

God is in control and he has a plan, I didn’t need to worry about all these things, because I had faith in God. and because I remained faithful in his silence he proved himself faithful. He strengthened my relationship with Sierra even with the long distance, he made his way clear that I no longer questioned what to believe, and he took care of me financially through blessing my parents who helped me considerably. and I no longer worried what my future would hold because I learned to trust in him with everything.

My young adult bible study has been reading though the screwtape letters by C.S. Lewis. has anyone here read the Screwtape Letters? If you haven’t I do highly recommend it. In this book C.S. Lewis takes the perspective of these two devils who work together to tempt a human who is converting to christianity, and in one of my favorite chapters they discuss the silence of God and the effect it has on man.

This is what it says, “Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys”

How it pleases God when we are faithful even when we don’t see God, just like with Job that is our time to show God that we truly love him.

Conclusion

I want to read a poem I found by Cavilla Martin

“Be not dismayed whatever betide you, God will take care of you. Beneath His wings of love abide you. God will take care of you. Through days of toil when heart doth fail. God will take care of you. When dangers fierce your path assail, remember, God will take care of you. Through every day, o’er all the way, He will take care of you. God will take care of you!”

It can be hard the first time that we face God’s silence. I had a conversation with one of my young adult bible study guys, and we were talking about this topic, I asked if anyone has ever experienced dryness in their faith, and one of my guys said that he never feels true dryness in his faith.

and I told him, that that was a bit concerning because he was leaving to go to Virginia soon and I was scared that the dryness may put him in a bad situation. But my point to him was, when we experience the true life giving power of God the power that he shows us in our highest moments then our low moments when God seems silent seem really low and really dry. almost unbearable.

If you are feeling God’s silence now or you have recently felt God’s silence remember that it’s temporary and remember that we must persevere and trust that God knows what he’s doing, Just like with Moses he is listening to us, and just like with Job he is allowing us to grow, and just like in the 400 years God is working behind the scenes to set a path for us.

Now this is what I’m going to leave you with so write this down and think about it. When you hear God’s silence and feel his absence, trust his presence.

Let’s pray.