I’m a firm believer in Christ’s power and love, but my confidence in Jesus does not come without questions and doubt arising at times. Don’t get me wrong. There are seasons of great faith when it’s easy for me to celebrate and say “I trust in the Lord” because He has answered my prayers as soon as I prayed them. However, whenever life’s worries and struggles overwhelm me, it can be easy to get into this mindset of “God where are you?” There are also seasons when Heaven feels painfully quiet. The prayers continue and the tears flow, and yet, the silence remains.
David begins Psalm 13 with “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” These are words of a man who wonders why he feels alone in the fight. He reveals the pain of his waiting and finds himself repeatedly asking “How long?” I can relate to this. Every passing day with no answer feels like God has forgotten. Silence can convince us that prayers only go as high as the ceiling while our circumstances remain unchanged.
David battled constantly with this feeling of being forsaken by God. When life presents struggles, it can be easy to convince yourself that He doesn’t care. Look at Psalm 22, where David starts by uttering words that are almost shocking to hear. He says, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning? My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest.” This is not just unanswered prayer; this is a feeling of complete abandonment. The man after God’s heart feels like his heart has been forsaken by that same God.
In both Psalms, David couldn’t see what God was doing behind the scenes. The same holds true for us. We never see the full picture, and we mistake God’s silence for inactivity. We assume that because we cannot see movement, nothing is happening. Scripture reminds us that God’s work is invisible long before it becomes visible. Faith is not believing because you have the answers. Faith is trusting God’s character even when you cannot see His hands at work.
"The silence is not evidence that God stopped working but that He is accomplishing something greater than we can understand." — Anderson Byrd
Psalm 13 ends with David going from “How long?” to “I trust.” Psalm 22 goes from “Why have You abandoned me?” to “You are my strength” and “He has done it!” Not because his situation had changed, but because he reminded himself of God’s goodness. I think of Jesus on the cross as He quotes the first verse of Psalm 22. To everyone watching, it looked like Heaven had gone silent. The Son of God hung there suffering, and God did not intervene. Behind the “silence,” God was accomplishing our redemption. The act that led to salvation unfolded but looked like abandonment. This gives hope to our seasons of suffering and waiting. Silence is not evidence that God stopped working but that He is accomplishing something greater than we can understand.
If heaven feels silent today, don’t stop praying. Don’t stop trusting. Don’t assume that an unanswered prayer is an unheard prayer. Evidence of God’s faithfulness is not that He answers immediately but that He faithfully works while we wait. The God who seemed silent to David and accomplished salvation through the cross is the same God who is working for your good even when you cannot yet see it.
Anderson Byrd is the director of ministry at LifeNow Church in Covington. For more information, visit lifenowcov.org.
Anderson Byrd is the director of ministry at LifeNow Church in Covington. For more information, visit lifenowcov.org.
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