There have been times in my life when the presence, plan and
leadership of God were so clear it was if He was walking beside me telling me
where we were going and why. There have
also been times when I desperately wanted and thought I needed that presence,
plan and leadership God in my life and He was silent. While we would often prefer God to openly communicate
and guide our lives, extensive Bible study shows that He is frequently silent. There are times when He appeared, talked and displayed
His presence in powerful ways. There
were direct personal conversations with Adam & Eve, Abraham, Samuel, Moses,
etc. There are also long periods of time when God remained silent. He promised Abraham that he would be the
father of a great nation. At the end of Genesis,
we see a small group of Isaacs's descendants then Exodus opens with these
descendants of Israel growing larger but enslaved be the powerful nation of
Egypt for some 400 years. Think of the
stories of the promise of becoming a great nation that parents and grandparents
told their children and grandchildren who were born into slavery and would die
in slavery for generations with no word from God following up the promise…until
a man on the run from Egyptian soldiers for murder saw a burning bush in the
desert. God clearly spoke to Moses and
then showed His power and presence in such dramatic ways that even the
Egyptians believed and let Moses walk away with millions of Hebrew slaves
headed to the ‘promised land’.
They were about to set off on a journey directly guided and
protected by God in powerful visible displays never seen before or since. The sea would part to let them pass ahead of
the pursuing Egyptian army. Once they
were on the other side God closed the sea and destroyed that threat. His presence was manifested as a pillar of
cloud to guide them in the day and a pillar of fire to comfort at night. Moses would go up the mountain and have
direct conversation as one man to another.
God protected them and supplied all their needs. Deuteronomy 29:4-6 says; “But to this
day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears
that hear. Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through
the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your
feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this
so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”.
They were fed Manna from Heaven and never received a
bill. Rarely in the Bible did God show Himself,
His power, mercy and grace so frequently to such a large group. And how did they respond to the powerful
presence and dramatic displays of His power?
They complained on a regular basis and when Moses was on Mount Sinai,
conversing with God interceding for the Hebrew people, they made a golden calf
to worship instead of the God who had been repeatedly performing miracles displaying
His power and presence!
The Old Testament is filled with examples of God exhibiting
His power and presence. Look at the
example of Elijah on Mount Carmel. He
challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a public contest to prove whose God was
real. They both would build an alter
then place a sacrificial bull on the alter but not light the fire. “Then you call on the name of your god,
and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is
God.” I am sure you are
familiar with the story (1 Kings 18) as they tried in every way to have their
god respond. Elijah ridiculed them and
then saturated his alter with water so much that it filled the trench around
the alter. Then he prayed; “Lord,
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in
Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your
command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord,
are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up
the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water
in the trench. When all the people saw
this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” Well, that revival, sadly, like many
didn’t last long. Elijah was soon found
fleeing from Jezebel in fear of his life.
What happened? Well, it seems that we are and have long been a people with a very short memory and fickle faith. Even the most dramatic display of God’s power and presence in our midst, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), was met with doubt, skepticism and rejection. Scripture tells us that “not even his brothers believed in him” (John 7:5). Jesus' own family rejected him as the Messiah. In spite of the miracles and power that He possessed Jesus was scorned and rejected. I think one of the saddest verses in the Bible is John 1:11; “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” After mankind's negative reaction to these most demonstrative revelations of God's power and presence, who could blame God for the 'silent treatment'?
The last sermon series I preached before retirement was on Hebrews 11. This entire chapter is devoted to faith. Verse 1 begins with; “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Then the chapter begins to describe the faith of people we consider spiritual giants such as, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, etc. This chapter is often referred to as the ‘Hall of Faith’ as it lists the people whom we would consider giants of faith. However, the chapter concludes reminding us that ‘Hall of Fame Faith’ remains even when God is silent as verses 11:39 & 40 remind us that; “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” I always found it remarkable that “none of them received what had been promised”, but none lost their faith!
So, when we look at the crazy world in which we live with growing violence, war, climate changes, political insanity, illness that affects us and our loved ones and we pray for God to act; what should we do when He remains silent? We should remember to do as the members of Hebrew’s ‘Hall of Faith’ did in holding on to the “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Whether we like it or understand it, the kind of faith God values most seems to develop best when He remains silent. Therefore, if you are at the end of your rope of prayers and faith…tie a not and hang on. God may remain silent but remember Hebrews 11. He has planned 'something better for us so that we will all be made perfect'. At least that what He has promised!
