When there’s distance in the air making it seem as if your prayers are going unheard…
When you cannot sense the nearness of God no matter how hard you try to…
When you are unable to hear God speak in your time of greatest need…
When you long for the comfort that only His presence can provide, yet it appears unattainable…
What do you do when God seems silent? What do you default to when you can’t hear His voice? Do you run to worldly, temporary comforts? The pursuit of happiness? Money? Fame? Sex? Do you turn to doubt and unbelief in the God you once ran to? Do you question His goodness and His steadfast love for you? Or, do you lean on what you know to be true of Him? Do you simply understand that perhaps God is molding you through His seeming silence into a more faithful version of yourself?
Have you ever read the book of Esther? I would encourage you to do just that. I’ve always loved the book of Esther. Maybe it was her courage to approach a powerful king and request the unfathomable. Or perhaps it was her humility, never seeming to appear confident in herself but rather relying on the wisdom of those around her. It could be her refusal to waste her life that resulted in her determination to use her position to influence the world around her. It’s all of those reasons and more that I love the story of Esther. A young, beautiful orphan girl chosen by God to be the conduit of His saving grace to an entire nation – it’s a powerful story of God’s providence. What is so shocking, though, is that God’s name is never mentioned in the entire book, not once. The emission of His name nearly caused the book of Esther to be rejected as a part of the cannon of Scripture. It is one of the most desperate moments of God’s chosen people, Israel, as they face genocide, and we can’t find God’s name anywhere. Where was He?
I would suggest that when you face times of desperate need (and we all do) and you cannot hear God’s voice, be ever more watchful for the work of His hand around you. His voice may seem to have gone silent, but be reminded that He speaks through the works of His hand. Scripture promises us on numerous occasions that God will never leave us or forsake us – NEVER. Just because you can’t hear Him doesn’t mean that He has left your side. Although we cannot see God’s name written within the book of Esther, He is shouting through His works. He softened the heart of a king who was far from walking with the Lord.
Look around you. Who has God positioned in your life that is providing comfort, wisdom, and help to you right now? Thank Him for that person. How has God provided for your needs in the past week? Perhaps you can’t hear His voice, but your desperate time is creating within you a greater desire and a clearer understanding of your need for Christ. As you remain in the waiting tank, desperately longing to hear Him speak, be reminded dear one that God is still in the process of completing the good work that He began in you, and He will not stop. That’s His promise to you and me.
Cherie, thanks for this post. I had wondered about the the absence of God's name in the Book of Esther and you gave it real life application. While we know that God had to be present or the writings of this story would have never made it in the Bible, it can be hard to see Him. We experience the same in our every day lives and you helped us see that He is there even when He seems silent.