When God is Silent

When it's time to share a message at PHCC I spend time asking Holy Spirit, "What do you want us to share?" Holy Spirit has never let me down in answering that question. However, the answer is not always, shall we say, 'eloquent'. Holy Spirit usually grunts out a one word answer or a question!

Today, the answer was a question, "What does it mean when God is silent?" Thanks a lot, Holy Spirit! LOL.

Since right now not all of our parishioners read this blog, I can share with you the answer to that question without revealing tonight's message.

My first thought was we, as believer, are called sheep and I wondered what sheep do when they don't hear the shepherd's voice. I know the Bible says His sheep always hear his voice. What should be understood in that verse is we hear His voice when He speaks.

Christians say some stupid things as, "God is always speaking, we're just not always listening." That's a really dumb thing to say because it contradicts the Word. The Word says His sheep hear his voice. Does that mean if we don't hear, we're not sheep? No. Why do we think God always talks? The scripture gives account of times when God is silent.

Revelation 8 says there was silence in Heaven. Hmmmmm, guess God had nothing to say at that point. In Genesis, after God was finished with Creation, God looked at what He had made. Was He talking while He was looking. I think not. After He looked He said, "It is good." In the Hebrew what He said was, "Beautiful!"

I just heard a speaker teach a whole message on the word 'good', but they didn't realize it should be 'beautiful'. It was amusing.

Back to the subject at hand. . . thinking of sheep, the shepherd speaks when there is danger, when action is needed, when soothing or correction are needed. Other than those incidences, the shepherd would have no reason to speak to the sheep unless the shepherd just wants to do so. During those times of silence, the sheep graze, rest and procreate.

Job didn't hear God for 37 verses and when God finally answered, God asked Job a question which was basically, "Where were you when I . . . . ?"

When the prodigal son returned to the father, the father didn't speak to him! No, he didn't! The father spoke to the servants instructing them to prepare a feast. Psalm 23 indicates the great Shepherd prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies.

Perhaps the silence of God means God is preparing the Bridal Feast for us. While God does that and there is silence, perhaps we should graze on the Word of God, rest in His peace and reproduce believers through salvation for the Kingdom of God, the family!