Africa
When God Is Silent -By Gabriel Agbo
You will agree with me that we cannot discuss this topic without first taking into account the indelible, eternal words of that brave, brilliant, spiritual, poetic, indefatigable and humble but powerful great King David, “I pray to you, O LORD, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.” Psalm 28:1-2. Wow! Did you hear that? This guy knows how to put God in very tight conditions with his choice of words. No wonder his prayers were always effective. He loves results. Whether in the battle fields or on his knees, he plans and executes his actions and words carefully.
Silence here means keeping quiet in the face of high expectations and urgency to speak out or act. It is appearing to be saying nothing and doing nothing when your response is desperately needed. One of the most distressing moments in life and in faith is not hearing from God when you need him most or when you feel he should act or react to an issue. Most times, it makes you feel disappointed, betrayed, confused and can even lead to depression and backsliding if the feeling and situation are not promptly and properly managed. But actually, God’s silence does not always mean that he has abandoned a matter. It does not mean that he is confused or undecided. And it is also not a sign of weakness or lack of will to effectively, totally manage and direct all the affairs of men. Yes, he is ever sovereign. But he chooses his own timing and method of action and intervention. He knows every matter, follows every detail, everything before it begins. He controls it as it exists and he knows how it will ultimately end. He knows and determines the end from the beginning. Nothing takes him unawares. Nothing panics him. So he does not need our timing, emotions, desperation, or opinions to take decisions. Yes, we want to talk about those times that you don’t get God’s immediate responses, direction, opinions or answers to your prayers and expectations. When you have done everything you should and it’s like he is not responding, the situation persists and you don’t know the next step to take. I mean when God is silent and heaven is quiet.
You will agree with me that we cannot discuss this topic without first taking into account the indelible, eternal words of that brave, brilliant, spiritual, poetic, indefatigable and humble but powerful great King David, “I pray to you, O LORD, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.” Psalm 28:1-2. Wow! Did you hear that? This guy knows how to put God in very tight conditions with his choice of words. No wonder his prayers were always effective. He loves results. Whether in the battle fields or on his knees, he plans and executes his actions and words carefully. Yes, it is good to hear from a man that has seen it all. He had seen the miraculous, the extraordinary, the spectacular, the swift answers and deliverances from God. And he has also experienced the delays, the rebukes, the near-fatal, the dangerous, the reprimands and the silence from him. And he knew the differences. Here, it was like he desperately needed divine intervention to survive, but it looked like heaven was totally silent. But let’s first briefly look at the times he enjoyed swift responses before we come back to the quiet periods. Is that okay with you?
When the Philistines heard that David had been crowned king of Israel, they came with their entire army to capture him, but David ran into his stronghold and from there he called upon the LORD. God answered and gave him victory over the Philistines. After a while, they came back and again God gave Israel victory. The enemy will always try to come back, so always be prepared. Then, after the death of Saul and Jonathan, David inquired from the LORD and the LORD told him to move back to Judah. But he didn’t just stop there. He moved further by asking for the particular city to settle and the LORD told him, “Hebron!” Wow! He always wants to know the definite mind of God even in the minutest issues. And it was there that the men of Judah came to crown him their king. When you move with God’s direction you will be crowned. True. When the Amalekites raided, burned Ziklag and took away children and wives of David and his men, he cried unto God and the LORD told him to go after the raiders that he will surely recover all that was taken from him. And he did. He also cried desperately many times for God to protect him from the rampaging deranged King Saul. David always got swift response from heaven. Get my book / audiobook Power of Sacrifice by Gabriel Agbo. It is in all major languages.
