Do you ever go through periods in your spiritual walk where it feels as though God is silent? I think there are many reasons for silence, but that’s not what this blog is about today. Instead, I want to talk about how God showed me in the last “silent period” that He was still talking to me, even when it felt like I wasn’t hearing anything from Him.
Today I want to share a few of the moments to encourage you to look at your life and see where God has been speaking to you too, even if you feel like all you’re hearing is silence.
I usually sleep really well. Fall asleep immediately and wake up when the alarm goes off. One night I simply couldn’t sleep. Wasn’t sure why but tossed and turned for almost two hours and finally decided to get out of bed. I went and checked my phone (not always my first thought) and realized there was a text from one of my jobs that needed my attention right away. I was able to do it that night instead of waking up to it in the morning and scrambling. That was a definite blessing from God and it was Him that prompted me to get out of bed when I couldn’t sleep.
Another job I have allows me the privilege of “vetting” guests. I truly enjoy this aspect of my work. One particular potential guest didn’t sit well with me. There were a few red flags but nothing major. I expressed my concern to my co-worker and let it be known it was more my gut that was saying “no,” then anything concrete. She delved deeper and God confirmed with her as well that this particular guest was not a good fit.
I am in a Bible study with two other ladies. Each month we take a turn picking the next book of the Bible we’re going to study. But we don’t pick – we specifically ask God to lead us to what He wants us to read about next. It was my turn to share what the book would be in October. I hadn’t “officially” started praying about the pick yet, but God and I were having some small conversations about it. Three times in one week God highlighted the Beatitudes to me. A part of the Bible I was familiar with but wanted to learn more about. I felt as though God wanted us to read Matthew next because that is where the Beatitudes were located. I told the other two ladies and that same week, God confirmed I had listened and obeyed. We were currently reading Hebrews and it was talking about the Old Convenant and the New Covenant, something else that I didn’t know enough about. That led me to start reading some of the Old Testament and that led me to see there was a five page explanation of the 400 years of silence the Israelites experienced between the book of Malachi and Matthew, when an angel appeared to Mary and told her about Jesus being conceived and she would give birth to Him. I was able to share that five page explanation with my Bible study partners and we all were blessed by the explanation.
And … how cool that God showed me He was talking to me during the silence by explaining more about the 400 years of silence the Israelites went through? I’m so grateful I don’t have to endure 400 years of silence. That means that many generations were born and died without having heard directly from God at all. How sad! Now that we have the Holy Spirit living in us when we choose to be Christ followers, I cannot imagine not hearing from God regularly.
That lesson put my “silence from God” into perspective. I’m still hearing from Him regularly, even when I don’t hear from Him in the ways I’m used to. Thankfully, God talks to us in multiple ways and any time we get to hear from Him is a blessing!
What about you? How have you heard from God lately? I’d love it if you share with us below.
© Cheri Swalwell 2021