I cry to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up but you merely look at me.
Job 30:20
There are times in our lives when God is active and present and we enjoy telling friends and family of the many wonderful things he has done for us. However, there are also those times, when God seems silent; those times when our world caves in and we feel abandoned. In the silence, it is easy to be afraid; to feel threatened and to feel abandoned. Yet none of these things are true of the God we serve.
Every child of God goes through different seasons of their faith, and the wilderness of faith is one of those seasons. Elijah experienced it when Jezebel threatened his life (1 Kings 19:10); The children of Israel experienced this dry season while journeying through the desert (Exodus 14:11); The psalms are filled with laments and moments of desperation (38, 51, 86, 102), and even Jesus experienced such a season in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:40). It should therefore not surprise us when we go through such a season in our own lives. And yet time and time again many of us cry out, “God, where have you gone?” This might be the season you are experiencing in your own life.
Job found himself in the wilderness, having lost absolutely everything when he cried out, “I cry to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up but you merely look at me (Job 30:20).” Where was God? Where was God when Job needed him most. Where was God when Jesus needed him? Where is God when you need him? Where is God indeed when our nation needs him? Andrew Peterson captures the desperation we feel in this silence in his song titled, “The Silence of God”:
It’s enough to drive a man crazy, it’ll break a man’s faith
It’s enough to make him wonder, if he’s ever been sane
When he’s bleating for comfort from thy staff and thy rod
And the Heaven’s only answer is the silence of God
When God seems silent, trust his word. He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).” When God seems silent trust his character. He is Elohim the eternal one who was in the beginning, and will always be (Genesis 1:1). When God seems silent, trust his creation. It is evidence of his presence and his power. When God seems silent, wait patiently for him (Psalm 27:14; 37:7). The Psalmist reminds us, “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry (Psalm 40:1).” God eventually came through for Elijah, for Job, for the children of Israel, for his Son Jesus Christ and for many others throughout his word. And no matter how long it takes, God is coming through for you too.
Loving Father, I am here in your presence waiting patiently. Speak Lord, that my heart might not faint. Amen.