Is Heaven Silent?

Is it really true that the Heavens are silent? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Yesterday, I wrote on how God is good and sometimes that’s terrible. Part of that is at the times when the Heavens seem silent. I’d like to start really looking at that topic in-depth as it affects a lot of people greatly. One aspect I wish to stress is that too much of our church has bought into a sort of concept of Christianese. I think one of the worst things we do is put on our spiritual hats and act like we have all the answers and that everything is always good in Jesus.

Let’s be blunt people. Sometimes life is a nightmare.

For some strange reason, we act like this is a surprise.

Too many Christians have given this impression that everything in their life is just wonderful. They act like prayer is just always so simple to do and they’re always so pious when they talk about how they do it. Let’s not forget Bible study. This is certainly a major one. After all, when these people open up the Word of God, they get something new out of it every day. I’ll go ahead and state it. There are many times I read the Bible and get absolutely nothing out. There are many times that prayer is a drudgery and a duty more than it is a joy. There are many times it is a pain to be a Christian.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I do not think I am alone in this thinking.

And you know one of the worst parts? It’s that you cry out to God and you beg and plead for that help. Is He not to draw near to the broken-hearted? Is He not to care for His sheep? Is He not the loving Father who is looking for His own? This is what we expect.

And nothing seems to be said back.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

What is going on?

I mean, doesn’t God know the situation?

Doesn’t He care about the situation?

Doesn’t He know that this is the time He’s supposed to show up and do something?

Nothing is coming.

What is wrong?

In any situation we have with another person, my first recommendation is that we always check ourselves. We check ourselves thoroughly. We ask if we have done anything that has cut us off from support. You see, if God is love, we must realize that sometimes we push ourselves away from love. If we are blocking ourselves, we will not be able to receive the love that is already coming from God. All of us must constantly watch to make sure we are open to receiving love. If we are not, then it could be that we have built ourselves a wall so strong God will not get through it. That’s quite a wall, but it happens.

What are other possibilities?

Another one is that too often, we expect God to speak in a grand way. Many of us are familiar with the still small voice of Elijah. I am not talking about God speaking to our hearts. The passage is not about that. I am talking about the way God does work in our lives. Many times, it is through ordinary means. The signs of the covenant were quite often very ordinary. A rainbow was the sign of the covenant with Noah. When it comes to the new covenant, Jesus used ordinary bread and wine. Many times, God uses just ordinary people. I do not mean that they are prophets in the sense that God directly sends or gives a direct message. I mean that the love of Jesus is shown in the love of His people.

Fear can keep us away from God too. If we are fearful of other people, we can be fearful of God as well. Many times we can say we want God to love us, but it can also be scared to have that love. It is scary because that love changes us and it often requires we do things that are very painful. It could be required that we love and forgive our enemies, which is something that is extremely difficult to do.

Of course, there is also sin. We must really examine ourselves and ask if we have done anything seriously wrong for our sins can often cut us off. Have we truly made God our #1? Have we made Him our focus? Have we unknowingly sought after other gods? This is part of self-examination. Are we living the lives that we ought? Are we truly giving thanks and praising? A broken and contrite heart does not mean that we regret what has happened and want to be with God again. It means that we regret the sin greatly. We view the sin as our greatest enemy and we seek to do everything we can to eliminate it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Then finally, there is the point that this can be normal. It could just be that God is allowing something to happen to us because He is shaping us to be the people we need to be for the future that awaits us. We are quite presumptuous when we think that we always know better. We do not. Part of faithfulness is realizing that you do not know better. You are often speaking from ignorance. Nay. You are always speaking from ignorance. You do not know the future.

As we continue, I’d like to look at more concerns about the silence of God and how to deal with it.

In Christ,
Nick Peters