Recently, I was blessed to watch “The Voice of the Martyrs” program. As I listened, two men shared their testimonies about their imprisonment because they believed in Jesus Christ. My heart ached for them and others still in prison. Each of them shared the horrible things that were done to them. They were beaten daily and kept in isolation in tiny rooms with steel doors that had peepholes. The one thing that struck me was their feeling of hopelessness. Both expressed a time when they felt God was silent to them. They wanted to die but couldn’t. The beauty of their lives was their resolve during that period. They knew the Bible, and they clung to the promises of His word while feeling there was no help.
What do you do when God seems silent? How can we prepare for a time when we feel there is no help for our situation? I believe preparation is the key to coming through a period like these men experienced. We must dig into God’s word and hide it in our hearts. Psalm 119:11 teaches us to hide God’s word in our hearts so we will not sin when tempted. We will have ammunition to fight. If you know God’s truths, you can continue to push forward when you feel helpless. God’s silence isn’t a reason for quitting. He is our hope, even when we feel hopeless. When God seems distant and quiet, remember His word and know He will never leave you. He promised in Matthew 28:20 that He would always be with us. Believe Him and understand that the silence is for a purpose. God is not obligated to tell us everything, but we are obligated to trust and obey.
Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
There may be another reason we feel helpless. God may be silent because there is unconfessed sin in our lives. In Psalm 66:18, if we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we have determined to indulge in sin, and have an unrepentant heart, God will not hear us. It will do us well to daily come before the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us any sin that is in our lives. Then, it is our responsibility to repent and forsake any known sin.
Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
When you experience a time when God seems silent and you feel helpless, remember you are not the first, nor will you be the last, to feel this way. In John 11:1- 6, Jesus does not respond to Mary and Martha until their brother Lazarus dies. They were heartbroken because they knew that if Jesus had been there, he could have healed him. However, Jesus had a greater plan that would bring more glory to God. He would raise him from the dead!
John 11:14-15 “Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless, let us go unto him.”
John 11:40 “ Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”
Job went through a time when he was suffering beyond our imagination, and he says in Job 23:8-10 that he sought God intensely but could not find Him. He could not feel His presence, yet he knew God was faithful. Therefore, he would not doubt but continue to trust God.
Job 23:8-10 “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
We have looked at a few reasons that we as Christians may feel helpless or hopeless, but the main thing we need to remember is that God will not forsake us. He is always there and working on our behalf. He is in control. He has a perfect plan, and we must trust Him. Our head knowledge of God must take control when our physical strength is gone and our emotions are all over the place. We will only stay true if we have spent time alone with God and in His word before the trying times come. The truth of the word will hold us close to Him when our heart feels nothing.
Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
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