When God is Silent

[Nancy]

Greetings brothers and sisters!
This is a subject I've been looking into for a little while now. Does this happen to everyone? I am thinking it does, at least to a certain extent. God was silent for 13 years with Abraham yet, his faith only grew stronger! Even David had his times of silence, not to mention poor Job.
It can be a very difficult thing to see His light inside our own personal darkness but, these dark times seem to be THE very time to immediately pray/praise Him!
There are many reasons, IMHO that He is silent with us sometimes (sometimes even to the point of desolation) it could be sin in our lives, or simply an opportunity to grow in faith...right smack dab through the darkest of times. Such an opportunity to seek Him! ~ and it can be the hardest thing to do when one feels as though they are having a one way conversation in a relationship with The Father. We KNOW He is still there because we believe His Word.
Does anybody have anything to add here? :)

nancy

 

[CharismaticLady]

Yes, I have, but when God seems silent, I listen all the harder.

 

[Pearl]

Yes, I have, but when God seems silent, I listen all the harder.

I was going to reply to Nancy's post how important it is to listen. It may only be a couple of words but they will make all the difference.

 

[Stan B]

Greetings brothers and sisters!
This is a subject I've been looking into for a little while now. Does this happen to everyone? I am thinking it does, at least to a certain extent. God was silent for 13 years with Abraham yet, his faith only grew stronger! Even David had his times of silence, not to mention poor Job.
It can be a very difficult thing to see His light inside our own personal darkness but, these dark times seem to be THE very time to immediately pray/praise Him!
There are many reasons, IMHO that He is silent with us sometimes (sometimes even to the point of desolation) it could be sin in our lives, or simply an opportunity to grow in faith...right smack dab through the darkest of times. Such an opportunity to seek Him! ~ and it can be the hardest thing to do when one feels as though they are having a one way conversation in a relationship with The Father. We KNOW He is still there because we believe His Word.
Does anybody have anything to add here? :)
nancy

Nancy, you bring to mind the words of CS Lewis after losing his wife.

From A Grief Observed (1961) by CS Lewis:

"Oh, God, God, why did you take such trouble to force this creature out of its shell, if it's now doomed to crawl back — to be sucked back — into it?"

Lewis struggles profoundly with despair after the death of his wife, Helen Joy, in 1960, after only three years of marriage.

"... Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be — or so it feels — welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?"

I tried to put some of these thoughts to C. this afternoon. He reminded me that the same thing seems to have happened to Christ: 'Why hast thou forsaken me?' I know. Does that make it easier to understand?

"Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all,' but 'So this is what God's really like. Deceive yourself no longer.'"

Nancy, while this does not answer your question, perhaps it will provide you with some comfort, that at least you are not alone in this.

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

 

[Nancy]

Nancy, you bring to mind the words of CS Lewis after losing his wife.

From A Grief Observed (1961) by CS Lewis:

"Oh, God, God, why did you take such trouble to force this creature out of its shell, if it's now doomed to crawl back — to be sucked back — into it?"

Lewis struggles profoundly with despair after the death of his wife, Helen Joy, in 1960, after only three years of marriage.

"... Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be — or so it feels — welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?"

I tried to put some of these thoughts to C. this afternoon. He reminded me that the same thing seems to have happened to Christ: 'Why hast thou forsaken me?' I know. Does that make it easier to understand?

"Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all,' but 'So this is what God's really like. Deceive yourself no longer.'"

Nancy, while this does not answer your question, perhaps it will provide you with some comfort, that at least you are not alone in this.

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

Awesome reply Stan, thank you for the input! There is not one thing you said here that I do not agree with.
Now "From A Grief Observed" is one I have not read by C.S. He had such insight. I will order it NOW, lol.
In Him always,
nancy

 

[Stan B]

Awesome reply Stan, thank you for the input! There is not one thing you said here that I do not agree with.
Now "From A Grief Observed" is one I have not read by C.S. He had such insight. I will order it NOW, lol.
In Him always,
nancy

Probably no need to order. It is probably easily available online.

 

[Nancy]

Probably no need to order. It is probably easily available online.

I shall see what I can find, thanks :) I have it in my Amazon cart but, haven't ordered it yet...

 

[Nancy]

Probably no need to order. It is probably easily available online.

Just found a free PDF

 

[Enoch111]

Does anybody have anything to add here?

No. You said what needs to be said, and now we all must just wait and see how things develop.

 

[Stan B]

Does this happen to everyone? I am thinking it does, at least to a certain extent.

Nancy, I was just reading this a few hours ago as I started my day, where Job asks his friends why they are persecuting him as God does.

“Why do you persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?

And then Job goes down the list of all the nasty things God has done to him. Too long to quote here, but Job 19 it is certainly worth the read.

But all these bad things did not come from God. They came from Satan, only with God's permisson.

 

[Stan B]

IMHO that He is silent with us sometimes (sometimes even to the point of desolation) it could be sin in our lives, or simply an opportunity to grow in faith nancy

No!! That really doesn't work for me, because "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8

So if we are free from the law, how can we possibly sin against a law that no longer exists?

 

[Pearl]

There have been times when I felt that God just wasn't around any more. I knew though that he was and that it was me that just wasn't 'feeling' his presence. I prayed and wept, read my bible and asked and did all I could to remedy this feeling of emptiness but got nowhere. I was beating myself up wondering what I was doing wrong getting into a terrible state spiritually. And that was when God spoke. He just spoke five little words directly into my spirit. He said, "Just be and let me." Immediately the pressure was off. I stopped striving to get near God and let him get near me. That is why I said in an earlier post that it is important to listen for the whispered word or encouragement or direction.

 

[Nancy]

There have been times when I felt that God just wasn't around any more. I knew though that he was and that it was me that just wasn't 'feeling' his presence. I prayed and wept, read my bible and asked and did all I could to remedy this feeling of emptiness but got nowhere. I was beating myself up wondering what I was doing wrong getting into a terrible state spiritually. And that was when God spoke. He just spoke five little words directly into my spirit. He said, "Just be and let me." Immediately the pressure was off. I stopped striving to get near God and let him get near me. That is why I said in an earlier post that it is important to listen for the whispered word or encouragement or direction.

I know how important it is to listen for His voice...it can be very difficult with a mind that is always like, 100 miles per hour, lol. It is what I practice all the time though, or should I say, attempt to conquer daily! I know He is there and I know He hears us...it is such a growth thing...lifelong IMHO.
xo

 

[Nancy]

Nancy, I was just reading this a few hours ago as I started my day, where Job asks his friends why they are persecuting him as God does.

“Why do you persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?

And then Job goes down the list of all the nasty things God has done to him. Too long to quote here, but Job 19 it is certainly worth the read.

But all these bad things did not come from God. They came from Satan, only with God's permisson.

I see that even we Christians blame God for allowing Satan to get to us at times. He has given us all the armor we need to defeat Satan yet, it can sometimes seem useless in the storm and, that is when we need it most. Cannot lose sight of the fact that God is good, always and His ways are so much higher than ours...I feel a growth spurt coming on

 

[Nancy]

I see that even we Christians blame God for allowing Satan to get to us at times. He has given us all the armor we need to defeat Satan yet, it can sometimes seem useless in the storm and, that is when we need it most. Cannot lose sight of the fact that God is good, always and His ways are so much higher than ours...I feel a growth spurt coming on

BTW-I'm about half way through chapter 3 of "Grief Observed...I so love C.S.'s honesty and openness. I did not even know he was married, short 3 years though it was. His questions are bold and honest, love his writing.

 

[amadeus]

I see that even we Christians blame God for allowing Satan to get to us at times. He has given us all the armor we need to defeat Satan yet, it can sometimes seem useless in the storm and, that is when we need it most. Cannot lose sight of the fact that God is good, always and His ways are so much higher than ours...I feel a growth spurt coming on

"Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" Matt 18:7

 

[Stan B]

BTW-I'm about half way through chapter 3 of "Grief Observed...I so love C.S.'s honesty and openness. I did not even know he was married, short 3 years though it was. His questions are bold and honest, love his writing.

Yeah, CS Lewis had a most heart-rendering story. The one he finally fell in love with, was already dying from terminal cancer when he married her. They only had a total of four years together before she died. :-(

I have read a number of CS's books over the years, and they have not been an easy read. He operates on a whole 'nother intellectual level than most of us. It takes lot of motivation and determination to get through his books, but the end result is always worth the effort.

I enjoyed the 1993 movie "Shadow Lands" that tells his life story.

 

[Stan B]

I see that even we Christians blame God for allowing Satan to get to us at times. He has given us all the armor we need to defeat Satan yet, it can sometimes seem useless in the storm and, that is when we need it most. Cannot lose sight of the fact that God is good, always and His ways are so much higher than ours...I feel a growth spurt coming on

Nancy, this is totally unsupported theology, but there is a day coming where we will all stand before the Bema Seat, where Jesus presents us with our reward in accordance with how we have lived in accordance with His will. At the outset, I tend to believe we will be separated into two categories: the first being those of us whose faith is strong enough: those who "walk by faith and not by sight"

 

[Nancy]

Yeah, CS Lewis had a most heart-rendering story. The one he finally fell in love with, was already dying from terminal cancer when he married her. They only had a total of four years together before she died. :-(

I have read a number of CS's books over the years, and they have not been an easy read. He operates on a whole 'nother intellectual level than most of us. It takes lot of motivation and determination to get through his books, but the end result is always worth the effort.

I enjoyed the 1993 movie "Shadow Lands" that tells his life story.

I too saw Shadow Lands, Anthony Hopkins played C.S.! He sure did operate on quite a different level. I've read Mere Christianity and The Screw Tape Letters several times over. I found "Surprised by Joy" a bit dry and do not recall much of it. I just read his How to Pray...he has such interesting observations.

 

[Nancy]

Nancy, this is totally unsupported theology, but there is a day coming where we will all stand before the Bema Seat, where Jesus presents us with our reward in accordance with how we have lived in accordance with His will. At the outset, I tend to believe we will be separated into two categories: the first being those of us whose faith is strong enough: those who "walk by faith and not by sight"

I believe that. Since without faith, it is impossible to please Him :)