A SEASON OF SILENCE

It doesn’t take long, as a follower of Christ, to learn that we walk by faith and not by sight. We start to understand the importance of believing in things we cannot see. We then add to that by reading the words, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1. Without a doubt, the Christian life is one of faith, where your belief in God must be greater than what you see.

After thinking about that today, I was reminded of another important scripture about faith.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17.

Not only does faith affect our vision, but it also affects our hearing. According to Paul, the way we receive faith is by hearing the Word of God and after hearing it, then our faith starts to grow. Now we walk with confidence, no matter how things appear, because of what we have heard. For me, that puts it all in proper perspective. If I’m having a problem with what I’m seeing, I may need to make sure of what I’m hearing. I don’t need to check my eyes, I need to test my hearing.

We spend so much time connecting faith to our vision, but I really don’t hear many people talking about faith affecting what we hear or maybe what we don’t hear. We hear the Word of God and it gives us faith and it’s in that faith that we learn to live by and walk by. Even though at times we can’t see it, we keep going because of what we’ve heard. Let me add one more thing to this. After we’ve heard the Word and we’re walking by faith, what about the times we ask a question but can’t hear the answer? For many of us, we’ve learned to walk by faith and not by sight, but what really starts to affect us is what we cannot hear. We seek for answers and it’s totally silent. We can handle not seeing, but now I’m not hearing anything either. In my opinion, there is nothing that will test your faith anymore than when you cannot hear the answer of what you’re asking.

Maybe you have been there or maybe you are currently there. Perhaps you are dealing with something and you’ve accepted the fact that you were walking by faith, but you don’t understand why there are no answers. Believe me, I know how you feel. I’ve gone through situations that I knew was a test of my faith and I could not see what was ahead of me, but I thought if I had some answers I could keep going and then….silence. I cannot see and now I’m not hearing anything. What do I do?

Well, the enemy would like for us to get mad at God and completely walk away from Him. However, there is one area that we must cling to in times like these. We have to rely on what we know. When we can’t see and we can’t hear, all we have left is what we know. We gather up all of the blessings in our lives and the countless times God has brought us through. We have to start thinking about where we’ve been and most of all where we are going. We have to make up in our minds, that we will not let the frustration of our current situation, jeopardize our future.

Are you dealing with silence? Are you not getting any answers? Do you wish God would just say something? I understand your exasperation, but let me encourage you today. There is a level in God that you can only get to when you’re not getting any answers and Heaven is silent. You could let your irritation determine your decision or you could choose to trust in God in a way you never have before. You could be honest with God and say, God, I cannot see clearly and I do not hear the sound of your voice…nevertheless, I will put my trust in what I have already heard in your Word and by faith I will continue on this journey.

No, that’s not easy to say, but you will join an incredible group of people that did exactly that. When Job couldn’t understand all that he was going through and he never received an answer from God, he plainly said: “THOUGH HE SLAY ME, YET WILL I TRUST HIM”. There are many others that have had to deal with the silence and answers to their questions. You are not alone.

Sometimes the level that God is wanting to take you can only be reached through a season of silence. I know it’s quiet, but it’s not over. Even if you don’t have answers, don’t stop praying. Just because God isn’t saying anything doesn’t mean He has walked away from you. Don’t let the silence cause you to forget what you already know.