Listening in the Silence
Trusting God When He Feels Silent
I feel a sting of rejection in the words not spoken – in the silence of the words left unsaid.
I challenged myself to reach out, and silence was the only response.
My desire to be liked keeps that one absent conversation at the front of my mind. I take it more personally than it’s meant to be, convincing myself the silence reflects a dislike of my presence rather than the ordinary chaos of a busy life.
Still, the silence grabs at my confidence, and I wonder what I could have done to be more deserving of a reply. And as that question lingers, it welcomes a deeper one—one I’ve carried before.
Why Does God Seem Silent?
I don’t think He always is, but sometimes I hear nothing.
Most days I come to Him expectant, waiting with hopefulness to hear His guidance and direction.
Some days I come to Him with questions, wrestling with humanity and the limits of my understanding.
Other days I come to Him confused, grieving the loss of answers and the growing weight of new questions.
As I sit on these thoughts, I can’t help but notice the irony. How often is the role reversed? How many times have I treated my relationship with God the very same way, giving God my silence in exchange for His longing of a relationship with me?
I struggle to process how it must feel when I ignore Him – when I push Him aside with the intention to “come back later.” I wrongly decide that the other things of life demand more of my attention than Him. “Hang on – just one more minute,” I tell Him, as if He were a child I can manage.
Why do I give God my silence when I know how it feels to be neglected?
The question leads me to other questions:
- Why would a perfect God want imperfect people to follow Him?
- Why would He choose to deal with our hurtful habits that continue to go against Him?
- Why would He bear the burdens of the world when He never had to?
The first book of the Bible, Genesis, states, “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good…” (Genesis 1:31). This verse alone doesn’t answer all of the questions we may have. But we can see the love of God to protect and provide for His creation.
God created Adam in His image (Genesis 1:27), and He wanted Adam to have a partner, “It is not good that mean should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him,” (Genesis 2:18). God created Eve, providing Adam with a helper to have relationship.
When Adam and Eve went against God and they realized they were vulnerable, God provided covering to protect them. God could have ended His relationship with creation in the garden. But He chose to be with us even still.
God wanting a relationship with us is the biggest part of the story of creation.
You are not a burden. In His love and compassion, God looks at you – His created – and He delights in you and your companionship with Him.
The thing about God is that we don’t need to question if He cares. His heart for us has been evident since creation. The full display of that was shown when He sent Jesus to bear the burdens of the world so that we could have a relationship.
God’s Truth
He says we are…
- Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139)
- Beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
- His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)
- Precious in His sight (Isaiah 43:4)
- His children (Galatians 3:26)
- Worth it (Matthew 10:31)
If God declared these truths about us, I imagine His silence is not a punishment but a patient growing of our souls to have a deeper trust and desire for Him.
Keep seeking. Keep growing. Keep searching. Even in the silence, His love remains.
One Comment
Karan Wingate
Love, love love!!