When God seems silent

 

Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash

It happens to all of us. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” He uttered this prayer in the pain and suffering of the moment. As the Son of God, he knew the plan. He told his disciples about it.

So, why utter it?

Jesus uttered the prayer because he felt abandoned in the moment’s misery. God was silent when he needed him to be present.

King David, the psalmist of Israel, said,

King David, the psalmist of Israel, said,

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.

Ps. 46:1 The Message

Where was God when Jesus needed him? It seems God contradicted his word, or did he?

This goes too deep to properly unfold in a blog post, but understand that the plan of human redemption was a carefully devised plan of the triune God.

In other words, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit devised, executed, and completed the plan.

Knowing the cost, Jesus implemented the plan to perfection. The incident on the cross teaches us an important lesson about a close personal relationship with the Godhead.

God was silent because he had nothing to do. Their plan was in play precisely as they had planned.

This means God’s silence in your situation will likely be because his plan for your life is in play and working precisely as planned.

Your part is to endure it as it unfolds. The Apostle Paul spoke to Timothy about this in his second letter to his protégé.

When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did.

II Timothy 2:3 The Message

 

Why did Jesus cry out?

The Bible does not say why Jesus cried out as he did, but understanding the second person of the Godhead gives us a hint.

Jesus is entirely God and fully man. The Bible says he suffered as humanity felt what we felt and hurt as we hurt.

Jesus did these things as a perfect human because his father was God, which meant he was not born under sin as humanity is.

 

This allowed him to commune with God (his Father) as Adam and Eve did before the sin.

(As I said earlier, this is too deep to unfold in a blog post)

The plan’s fulfillment allowed humanity to do the same after accepting Jesus as savior.

 

However, as a “fully man” (or human), the pain and anguish had to be unbearable. Imagine the pain of being beaten as he was, hoisting a 100-pound (approximately) beam and carrying it through the city and up a hill, only to be suspended in midair by three nails.

It is easy to see why he cried out.

When God seems silent

In Jesus’ case, he knew the plan and the impossible pain it would place on his (human) body.

In our case (more often than not), we may not know “why” something is happening, and this is why Jesus’ lesson is vital to a close personal relationship with the Godhead.

Jesus knew the end of the story and cried out. The physical part of the Son of God reached its limit, causing his mouth to utter the thoughts that filled his mind.

It makes sense when you cry out because your physical part (body, mind, and emotions) reaches its limit.

It makes sense that you would lash out at God because he is supposed to be there to protect you.

It makes sense that your mind is filled with thoughts of abandonment or even betrayal in these times.

The difference is that Jesus cried out (perhaps for all the same reasons), but he did not abandon trust in his Father.

Trust comes because of a close personal relationship. It is built by testing God (if you will) to see if he can be trusted.

The Psalmist David tells us to:

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see – how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him.

Psalms 34:8 The Message

In other words, test God out—he can be trusted.

Referring to the previous posts in the Deuteronomy scripture, Moses gives us valuable insight into trusting God.

“Moses called all Israel together. He said to them, Attention, Israel. Listen obediently to the rules and regulations I am delivering to your listening ears today. Learn them. Live them.

God, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb.

God made this covenant not just with our parents but also with us, with all of us who are alive right now.

God spoke to you personally out of the fire on the mountain.

At the time I stood between God and you, to tell you what God said. You were afraid, remember, of the fire and wouldn’t climb the mountain. ”

Deuteronomy 5:1-5 The Message

Notice how important this passage of scripture is.

God did not make his covenant only with the parents; he also made the covenant with the children.

God spoke to you personally out of the fire on the mountain.

The generation of people God spoke to died in the wilderness because of unbelief (lack of trust).

It is likely a few of the older children had a memory of what Moses was saying.

This means the stories were told and retold to the younger generation. They were embraced and passed along to keep the memory alive.

When God is silent in your walk with him, it is essential to remember the stories of those who have gone before you.

 

It would be best to reflect on how they made you feel and strive to embrace that feeling to help you through the present challenge.

 

The Psalmist David said, (King James Version) Yea, though I WALK THROUGH [not camp in] the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me. [emphasis added]

 

One final promise

Dr. Luke, the New Testament writer of the book of Acts, wrote under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit,

“All the prophets from Samuel on down said the same thing, most emphatically that these days would come.

These prophets, along with the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree. God’s covenant-word to Abraham provides the text: ‘By your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Acts 3:24-25 The Message

As a Christ-follower, you have a rich lineage to carry you forward. Dr. Luke’s passage of scripture tells you that (because of Abraham) your heritage goes back to Abraham.

You can stand on the shoulders of great people with powerful testimonies of God prevailing in impossible situations.

If he did it for your ancestors, he will do it for you.

So, when God seems silent, rely on your past to carry you through. Realize it is okay to cry out in anguish to God. But do not turn your back on his love and promises for your life.

A close personal relationship with the Godhead provides you a living hope. It is a living anticipation full of expectation of something good happening.

A close personal relationship with the Godhead is a journey. I invite you to follow along. As I learn, I will pass it along so you, too, can learn. I hope that as you learn, you can pass it along so that I (and others) might learn.