Silence. What comes to your mind when you hear that word? Is it something that you crave, or something that you cannot bear? Something you find easy, or something you find difficult to endure?

I’ve been reflecting on silence, on God’s part and on our part, and would like to share some of those reflections here.

Sometimes, things happen in our world and in our lives, and we may desire an explanation from God, some insight, some rationale, just something. What happens though when all you hear is the sound of silence… how do you handle that? And why might that happen in the first place?

There might be times when the noise around us is so loud, it drowns out God’s voice. In 1 Kings 19:11-13 (ESV), when Elijah was in a difficult season of his life (ironically but not unusually, this was right after a great victory), we read of his encounter with God, “And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The winds and earthquakes and fires may catch our attention, but are we able to hear God’s whispers? Remember that to hear a whisper, you need to be close, and you need to be silent. The question then to ask is how close are we?

James 4:8 (NLT) says, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” Have we come close to God with purified hearts? Do our loyalties lie with God, or elsewhere? Are we staying close to God through continuous fellowship with Him?

Psalm 37:7 (CSB) says, “Be silent before the LORD and wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans.” In the light of events of the past week, this verse is a particular comfort. God recognises that when evil prospers, there is a tendency for us to become unsettled, agitated. But God being God, He has already sent a Word ahead of this, to wait expectantly for Him, in silence.

That can be hard though, can’t it? It can be so much easier to react immediately, but as Francis Bacon says, “silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.”
Silence is one of the greatest tools for sharpening our ears. Have you ever noticed that there are some sounds you never hear or notice until a place is quiet. Like birdsong, a clock ticking, the gentle rustle of trees, perhaps God’s voice? One of the most precious times of my day is when I wake up, and just lie silent, listening to what God has to say to me. Do thoughts flitter into my mind during these times? Sure, but I try to hand those thoughts over to God. It is not always easy, and I sometimes run away with those thoughts, but it is a discipline I hope to continue to improve on.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 tells us that there is a time to keep silent, and a time to speak. Indeed there will be a time to speak, but have you noticed that in this order, the time to keep silent comes before the time to speak?

Another reason why God may be silent is because He is waiting for us to obey His last instruction. I remember someone telling of a story of a friend who finally quit smoking after many years because they said they were tired of hearing God repeat the same instruction to them to stop smoking, and they were ready to hear something new. Are we like that? Wanting to hear something new while God’s previous instruction remains undone? When we walk with God, it is a step by step walk. It may help us to imagine what it is like when you are walking with someone and they are lagging behind. You may likely stop, quietly wait for them to catch up, and then resume your conversation with them.

However, there may be times when we are close, we are quiet, and we have obeyed all God has asked us to. Still, the sound of silence echoes so loudly. I recently read something that was of great comfort to me. “Silence does not mean absence. The ministry of presence transcends the ministry of words.” I thought that was quite profound. That God is silent does not mean that God is absent. We KNOW that He is with us because His Word says so. Joshua 1:9 (BSB) tells us, “Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” And in Matthew 28:20B (CSB), Jesus comforts us with these words, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

As mature believers, we need to trust God when He says that He is with us, because the truth is that there are times we won’t feel His presence. And that is one of the markers of our maturity as believers, that we can trust that God is with us, even when we don’t feel like it. This is what makes us different from babies. An interesting thing about babies is that they don’t really have object permanence, which is the understanding that objects or people continue to exist even when they cannot be seen or heard. When babies don’t see you, they think you have disappeared. This is why when you play peek-a-boo with a baby, it is so exciting for them, but also great for their eventual development of object permanence and dealing with separation anxiety. Babies playing the game may think you have genuinely appeared and disappeared, but any adult playing the game would know that the other person was always right there.

Silence can also be a sign of the depth of intimacy we have with someone. When you meet someone for the first time, you may feel awkward being silent with them, but the closer you are to someone, the more comfortable you would likely feel in those silent moments. As such, it is okay to embrace the silence sometimes, especially when we are sure that our closeness and obedience are not in doubt, and to trust that God is present and working.

There might also be times when God knows that we just need His presence more than anything else. Sometimes in our greatest seasons of pain and loss, when words feel weak, the presence of one who cares does far more good than any words can.

The story of Job comes to mind as I write this. Did you notice that Job’s friends were a far better comfort when they were silent? Job 2:13 (ESV) says, “And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.” That was probably the only time Job derived comfort from them actually, because once they opened their mouths to speak, it was a totally different ballgame. There is a lesson for us here as well, of the beauty and comfort of silence. When we are mourning with those who mourn, sometimes our presence may be just what is needed. Again, there may indeed be a time to speak, but when we have listened to God in the silence, when it is time to break the silence, we will be better placed to speak His wisdom rather than ours. And I think we would all agree that God’s wisdom is infinitely better than ours.

I pray that as we reflect on this, we will learn to stay still before God, close to Him, quick to obey Him, and to treasure those times of silence in the arms of our Abba. As we do so, may our intimacy and trust in Him grow, and may the wisdom, comfort and strength we glean during these times be a blessing to us, to His Kingdom and to our world. Amen and Amen.

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