Why is God so quiet?

I had a hard conversation with a client a few days ago. She is struggling to put the past behind her and no longer believes that God loves her because he is quiet when she needs him to be vocal the most.   

Her past is full of loss and she struggles to understand why.  What’s prompted this is she recently lost a family member. She is questioning why God would take her loved ones and feels he is using this to punish her.  My heart breaks for her. I understand loss and I understand questioning why God allows us to walk through so many hard things.

I myself have asked the questions: Why are things so hard for me?  Why do I always have to tear down walls and why are there so many? God’s silence can be deafening especially when you are used to hearing his voice in your time of trouble. As I listened to my client pour out her heart I am reminded of something. God uses our trials to teach us lessons.

Lessons that help us recognize where we have sinned and the changes we need to make. Remember the walls I talked about? I’ve learned they represent my sin. My need to control. My pride. My unforgiveness. My need to hold others accountable for what they have done to me. The walls are built by me not God.

And the question still remains. Why does God become quiet at the times we need him vocal the most? I believe just like in school when we were taught history, math, and science, there was always a test at the end of the chapter to test our knowledge and application. The teacher is always quiet during the test. Right?  When you are going through trials and struggle because God seems so quite, you can know that everything you have learned is still there and it could be that you are now ready to take your test.

Jesus said this in John 14:26  “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

Though God’s quiet, his Holy Spirit has taught you everything you need to know to pass the test before you. And he is faithful to remind you what the answers are. 

I pray you are encouraged,
Cherie Zack
www.cheriezack.com www.theimperfectwives.org