His Silence Never Means That We’re Alone
I grew up listening to amazing, God-honoring music by the Wilds, a Christian camp in North Carolina. One of my favorite songs is called “When God is Silent” by Jeanine Drylie. If you haven’t heard it, I would highly recommend that you take a few minutes to look it up on YouTube. 😊
One of my favorite lines from the song comes during the chorus: “His silence never means that we’re alone.”
To be perfectly honest, I’ve been going through a time of silence. People sometimes say that their prayers bounce off the ceiling. While I can relate to that, I would go even further to say that sometimes I feel like my prayers are just bouncing around inside my head. Sometimes they don’t even seem to make it to the ceiling.
Here I am, a Seminary student, and I feel like for the past year I haven’t been near to God.
Have you ever felt like that?
I still struggle through my devotions, trying to be consistent. I still attempt to pray. I still look for opportunities to serve God. I still set spiritual goals for the semester or the year.
But, for the past year, a key theme in my relationship with God has been a lack of fellowship. Going through the motions of seeking God hasn’t always seemed to result in a closer relationship with God.
If you’ve ever been in this place (and I’m sure many of you have), then I imagine you’ve struggled through some of the same questions and fears that I have. I’ve wondered whether I’m on the verge of breaking out of this rut, or whether this is just a new normal. I’ve wondered whether there’s anything I can or should be doing to “fix” my relationship with God and get it back to where it used to be. I’ve wondered whether my desire to seek God will outlive this season, or whether the length of the season will suppress that desire.
When I’m conflicted by these questions and worries, all I can do is keep doing what I’ve been doing: seeking God. And while I’m doing that, God keeps doing what He’s been doing all along: pursuing my wandering heart.
Because ultimately, my feelings don’t define God’s relationship with me. His promises are the same in spite of the ever-changing seasons of my life.
Psalm 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Psalm 119:151 But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true.
Many Christians go through periods where they feel like God is silent. He seems far away, distant, unapproachable. But, as God’s Word demonstrates and as the songwriter puts so well, “His silence never means that we’re alone.”
I can’t let my feelings win this battle. When I’m tempted to doubt that God is still near to me, still caring for me, and still desiring my heart to be fully devoted to Him, God’s Word stands as a sure and faithful testimony to the truth. God is my refuge, my ever-present help, my rock.
No season, no matter how long or how difficult, can ever change that.
Psalm 73:28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of your works.
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