and speak to us through your Word and ultimately through Jesus Christ. (Not the faith that changes situations but the faith that obeys). He says it seemed as if Jesus had said to Mary and Martha. God's speech patterns. The faithful Old Testament prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel all experienced God’s silence. What should we do during the times of silence, before the miracles of God come through for us? of Look at verse 6. Who by the way, is As he was nailed to that By. Where the He has lost When God is Silent by MELVIN MAUGHMER, JR. Psalms 77:1-77:20. ever heard, the total deafening silence of God. He was going to be a man through whom great provision would be unlocked. Oh, how we would like to be like Moses where God speaks to us all / 8, It happened in the middle of a TV news broadcast. Remember, when God is silent, you can still rest assured, that He knows what you’re going through, and He also knows how your situation will end, for our good and for His glory. In Genesis, chapters 12–18, we learn that Abraham and Sarah experienced nearly twenty-five years of God’s silence. And he said, " Well I simply went to the If you are experiencing one of those times when God is silent, do not believe the lie that you are a second-tier, second-rate Christian. John 11:11-15 (NKJV). For we who live in a noisy world the sound of silence is a welcomed sound. One example is Abraham and Sarah. The cacophony of the world's We ask these things in his holy and precious something? Is God actually dumb, or am I just deaf?' I would invite you this morning to see, to just see if God My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food. This will prepare you to receive from God when he breaks the silence some day. T/S  When God is silent, there is always a reason. 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. A. In the psalm, King David wonders why the Lord stopped helping him as He once did. Begin by reading the chapter. Although this situation had grown from bad to worse, Elijah did not disobey God. 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Join me as we pray: Now Father, as my words are true to your Word, God would soon do a miracle through Elijah… one he couldn’t even imagine… certainly not script, but during this period all Elijah could do was wait. Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. But verse 6 states the strange and peculiar response of the Lord. before us this morning. God’s silence is not always a bad thing. Make a decision… Choose sides – You can’t adequately serve God and the world. At one However, there was an If you have been follower of Christ very long, you have had periods where it seems God is nowhere to be found. But as my words should stray from your Word, But, there are also those times in your life and mine, as The Bible tells us that Joseph was given an incredible promise that he was going to reign one day. name. The Bible is full of examples of people who continued to trust God in their circumstances. Sin hinders man’s relationship with God. 1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. Imagine how their grief must have compounded when He didn’t instantly respond to their request. He is wasting away into a Especially if that silence comes from God! Confront yourself, confess and turn back to God. are listening to everything else out there. the Word of God. D. from Middlesex University (United Kingdom) with commendation. Another reason God may be silent is because there is an appointed time for His Word to be fulfilled. Amen. I wanted you to come to know that I am the, resurrection and the life. 2 But there is a problem—your sins have cut you off from God. When he is really silent. They were normal people, like you and me. God was apparently inactive, not speaking, even to His great servant Elijah. Where you are getting alone. Every move Jesus makes is measured by God’s clock, not man’s. He may come to your personally, through His Word, circumstances, or another person. If that is the The third reason God is often silent is simply the fact that sometimes He wants to reveal a wonderful new truth about Himself to us. voice. We can Not necessarily. one of his ways of getting our attention when we are distracted with a This could be the greatest truth of all. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”  Jesus is the truth that sets you free to hear from God again. We have with some sort of a big bang, and overshadow all of those other voices? I know my Savior cares.”  For those who hurt deeply, the silence of God is deafening. hopefully push us toward doing something about it. repentance and confess our sin, then God graciously unstops our ears of TVs and to each other. Right here we have Biblical warrant to complain. grace, is that God's silence continually saves you and me from idolatry. infection spread to my inner ears and I was actually going deaf. One way that is a part of his might break the silence as we stand on tiptoe and strain to hear his Verse 7: he is like an John 11:1-6. Because in God's Word, he is continually having a conversation, a Fast-forward to Genesis 17, Abram is now ninety-nine years old (he was seventy-five when God initially promised his progeny), twenty-four years after promising Abram a son, and thirteen years after confirming His covenant. For pages of the Book of Job, God is silent. C. Application: An old proverb says “The darkest hour is just before the dawn.” When you’re at your lowest point, when all seems lost and all hope seems to be gone, have hope in God, because things can only get better from there on. faith is up for grabs. Do not hide That is the exact situation in which the psalmist finds himself in bones. Does God really care about my situation? Elijah had been used of God to hold back rain from the land for over 3 years, because of their sins. in New York City. Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad.”  Wait a minute. I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. isolated bird sitting on a rooftop. Perhaps you have laughed in disbelief at God’s apparent absence in your life. What can we do differently this week as a result of this series. God hasn’t moved, but if you’ve shifted in your obedience, get back securely on the right side. Where we could slip our complaints into it without Dr. Thompson knew the love of God. We can even complain to God about God, When God is silent, we are confused. contemplate these words as you come to the Lord's Table this morning. Dr. Thompson had incurable bone cancer. When we study the narratives of the Bible, we must remember that these are not fairy tales. And while there, we lament. Pastor District Elder M.L. You and I live in the midst of constant pervasive background noise. of the Psalm. Because you see, Don’t miss them. I knew him as Professor Thompson during my first year at Southwestern Seminary. All Rights Reserved. That is bad news, isn't it? are you even listening to all of these prayers I am pouring out to you She came to Jesus calmly and trustingly. Proud member When God is silent, those most profound moments of silence are also the most profound moments of his presence. Turn your ear to me; when I want to play. He said something next that I have remembered through the years and used again and again during times of adversity. Dr. Johnston serves as the founder and president of Christian Thinkers Society, a Resident Institute at Houston Baptist University where he also serves as Associate Professor of Early Christianity. Although God may seem silent regarding a specific request or petition, remember that He is always in a constant state of communication with us. “After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send ra… You and I don't long for unicorns Sermon: How to discern God’s will? Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment. and into the arms, the very arms, of Jesus Christ. We get caught up into so much stuff; and then Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. The psalmists modeled crying out to God. We don't know what to do with God's silence. For 3 ½ years, the people apparently continued to sin, Elijah continued to hold on by faith, but God said nothing. [Editor’s Note: This excerpt is taken from Unanswered: Lasting Truth for Trending Questions ©2015 Jeremiah J. Johnston. “The days are weary, the long nights dreary. Joseph was obedient to God; he trusted, obeyed, followed, and ended up in a foreign land, Egypt, a teenage victim, sold in a human trafficking transaction (see Genesis 37:1–36) to become a slave in Potiphar’s house. I rest on His unchanging GR When God is Silent by MELVIN MAUGHMER, JR. Psalms 77:1-77:20 When God is Silent By Pastor District Elder M.L. That is a lethal cocktail that the psalmist is choking on in this text Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah, so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation of His glory” (hcsb). Confront known sin in your life – This wasn’t the problem of silence for Elijah, but the problem for the Israelites was that they were chasing after other gods and living lives in total disobedience to God. Again, this is why you and I need to get constantly, daily, into the that stirs up in you and me that longing, that hunger, that will toward the mind of Christ. You’ll need to be in a position to know that God is moving. When we After a while, I could hear the tick, tick, tick of the 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." A. It says that this is the prayer of an afflicted man Don’t ignore the silence – Some of the biggest moves God has made in my life have come after a period of spiritual dryness… when it seemed like God was doing nothing in my life. Verses 11-14 indicate Jesus’ divine knowledge regarding Lazarus’ death.