THE "SILENCE" OF GOD

WHEN GOD IS SILENT, IT IS NOT REALLY A SILENCE. IT SIMPLY MEANS HE HAS ALREADY SPOKEN

Ps 83:1. O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still. NIV. (Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society). Genesis 13:7 (Contemporary English Version): “6-7At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling. Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

ABRAHAM AND LOT:
Lot was an orphan. One man decided to look after him and help him move towards his future. This man Abram (later Abraham) was his uncle being the brother of his deceased father. Lot has a remarkably blessed life on account of Abraham. When Abraham grew in riches Lot too became quite rich. The inevitable conclusion is that Abram shared with Lot his wealth thus the riches of Lot, were, in a manner of speaking, a gift of Abraham.

But, Lot apparently was not grateful. His shepherds started quarreling with the shepherds of Abraham. Such a thing could not have happened without him tolerating it or, at least, not taking an active step to stop his men. It was in fact a conflict not limited to shepherds in the final analysis of the two (2) rich men. But, Lot owed his wealth and his life to Abraham but this apparently was not even a factor in his relationship with Abraham.

In the midst of this ordeal, God opted not to say anything. He remained very quiet. Asaph says in Ps 83:1. O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. NASB (Copyright, the Lockman Foundation). In Filipino, it seemed like God had said: “Away kong makialam diyan. Away nang magtiyuhin yan.” The remarkable thing is that when the problem was over, God spoke to Abraham and made many things clearer to him.

Why would God be quiet during momentous periods in our lives? Clearly, God did not say a thing. Was that we call silence? The dictionary gives us several possible understanding of the word “silent.” It can mean not inclined to speak; not talkative, unable to speak and choosing to speak. With the regards to the silence of God, the closest description is that this means that God has chosen not to speak. And, the very clear and therefore unmistakable reason is that He has already spoken and whether He speaks now or not, we must trust the words He already has spoken.

THE SILENCE OF GOD DURING TIMES OF ADVERSITIES.
Some of our adversities are of our own making. Adam was driven from the garden because he knowingly disobeyed God. Cain was punished because he was in full possession of mental faculties but he murdered his brother. During situations such as these, we do not usually question the silence of God.

On the other hand, some of our adversities are brought to us by others. Sometimes, others respond to our very act of kindness with a cruelty difficult to understand. Many mothers who have sacrificed the prime of their lives will end up being shouted at by their teenage children, disregarding the years of care and sacrifice put into action by the mother in favor of the welfare of the children. These are the times when we feel like questioning the silence of God.

Sometimes, our adversities are brought about by circumstances completely beyond our control such as, the force of nature and the resulting calamities. To this day, Bacolor, a lovely, historical and a close-knit community in Pampanga (Philippines) has not recovered its former stature and provably never will. Lives have been destroyed; families broken, properties rendered useless by the rampaging lahar from Mount Pinatubo.

Sometimes, our calamities and adversities are caused by our Genetic inheritance. I happen to have, from my genes, a tireless liver. Even when I already have sufficient amount of cholesterol, it just keeps on producing more and more that is why today, my diet is strictly no meat and no cooking oil. My son, Jonathan, is Trisomy 21 case or Down Syndrome, a problem that is genetic in nature.

How do you respond to your adversities? More importantly, what do we learn about God’s love and plan for us when we go through our moments of great difficulty and He remains silent? What is there to learn about God when He chooses not to say anything during times of great pain or disappointment?

God is love; that much we know from the Scriptures. Yet, there is that nagging and unavoidable question of His silence even when men go through their most painful suffering. The Deist thinks he has the answer when he proclaims that the reason evil takes place in the world is that God, in all His omnipotence, does not personally get involved in the affairs of man. That is why, the Deist explains, we have events such as Auschwitz, Darfur, Hiroshima and the like.

Probably more dangerous is the insistence of the modern TV Evangelist that sickness is a sign of a weak faith and that someone with sufficient faith is free from all these troubles in life. Of course by this definition, Ellisha the prophet was a man without faith for he died of a sickness. The truth is that we live in a world where personal tragedies and prolonged human suffering are visibly evident in the lives of the both the believers and the unbelievers. And when someone who expects God to speak in the times of his personal tragedy and prolonged suffering does not hear God, he begins to lose his faith and so he becomes adrift in the sea of doubts and uncertainties.

Let’s go back to the silence of God when Lot and his herdsmen acted with extreme arrogance toward Abraham. God did not say anything and so it can be described- (or so it seems) as the silence of God. But God is a relational God. He is a teaching God. He is a God who does not leave and abandon His people. His silence during deeply painful and difficult moments of our lives must not be viewed as a silence of neglect or lack of care. In fact, the case of Abraham and Lot provides us the clear explanation as to why God would sometimes not speak when we expect Him to speak.

When God does not speak, it simply means that He has already spoken and that all that we have to do is go back and hear again what He has already said and make our stand based on what He has already said and not on His silence during certain times in our lives.

God spoke to Abram and clearly told him that he would be blessed (Gen. 12). Whether God would speak again or not is no longer the point. He has already spoken and Abraham opted to trust God’s words. In fact, it was after that period of quarrel with Lot that God spoke again to Abraham – not during the time of his problem with Lot. After the parting of ways with Lot, which have been a painful experience, Lot was alone thinking about all the implications and then, in that condition, God spoke to Him. God basically told him 3 things: I have a plan for you; I have a plan for your offspring and it cannot be stopped; I will carry out my plan for your and your offspring.

You see, the silence of God during your difficult moments is not really silence as we know it. It simply means that He has already spoken and He will act based on that He has already proclaimed. Yes, we can trust Him for never abandons His people.