What Do We Do When God Is Silent?

What Do We Do When God Is Silent?

(To go along with this advent devotional, we’ve also made a Spotify playlist! Check it out here.)

          The idea of silence has been forever linked with Christmas. Songs like “Silent Night” did a pretty good job of that. But the silence of Christmas started hundreds of years before the night Christ was born. To be exact, there were 400 years of silence from God. This time period is represented in the single blank page between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

          For thousands of years, God spoke to His people through the written words of the Old Testament and through the audible words of the prophets. All along pointing people to the hope of a coming Messiah. And then, not a word of scripture written. Not a word of prophecy spoken. 400 years of waiting to hear from God again and with no end in sight! Can you imagine? 

          But then one night, one silent and one holy night, THE Word was spoken and the Savior was born.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

Here is an important lesson we can learn from this:

Silence is not a bad thing. 

Silence is not absence. Silence is opportunity. 

          Just because God seems to be silent doesn’t mean that He is absent! And just because God seems silent doesn’t mean that He isn’t working! God’s timing may be different than ours, but we know that His timing is perfect. We know that He is working all things for our good and His glory! In seasons of silence, we have the opportunity to posture our hearts to trust God with our uncertainty. 

          This Christmas Break are you willing to allow for silence in the midst of the noise of the season? Are you willing to carve out time to spend time with God? Quiet time with God may be the thing you need most this Christmas!

Here is a way to help you get started: 

          Don’t run from silence. Embrace it as an opportunity to trust. Take some time in the midst of this week to find a quiet place to acknowledge silence, posture your heart, and pray to God.

Acknowledge : Write out your thoughts. 

• What areas in my life do I feel like God is silent? Write them down. 
• How does that silence make you feel? Frustrated, anxious, tired, hopeless? 
• This practice might feel scary or you might be tempted to feel guilty, but remember that our doubts and uncertainty about the future don’t scare God! 

Posture : Now take those thoughts captive. 

• Write down this phrase: “Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working.” 
• As you focus on the areas where you feel like God is silent, open your hands as a physical posture of release. 
• Now try and posture your heart to trust. 

Prayer : Now invite God into those thoughts. 

• Pray and ask God to increase your faith. 
• “God, give me wisdom and understanding in my current circumstances.And in my limited perspective, give me confidence in Your character and in Your faithfulness.” 

Silence is not absence.

 Silence is an opportunity to trust.

We can trust that God is working in the silence. Just as He was those 400 years before the first Christmas, He is working in your silence now! 

(If you didn’t check it out before, check out this week’s advent playlist here.)