Godchaser Podcast
Join Evan Evans on The God Chaser Podcast, a weekly exploration of faith, spirituality, and personal growth centered on Jesus Christ. Evan, a devoted believer and captivating host guides listeners through engaging conversations and thought-provoking discussions that deepen their understanding of Christ and His teachings.
We delve into topics such as Christ's teachings, the power of prayer, the role of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of community in spiritual growth. The God Chaser Podcast aims to inspire and challenge listeners, equipping them with the tools and insights needed to live a more fulfilling, Christ-centered life.
Whether you're a seasoned believer or just beginning your faith journey, The God Chaser Podcast with Evan Evans supports and nourishes your spiritual growth. Subscribe to Apple Podcasts and join us each week as we chase after the heart of Jesus, embracing the transformative power of His love and grace.
Godchaser Podcast
God hasn't forgotten you when prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling.
Have you ever felt like your prayers are hitting an invisible ceiling? That unsettling feeling when heaven goes quiet and God seems distant is more universal than you might think. In this raw, unfiltered exploration of divine silence, we dive into the uncomfortable reality that even the most faithful believers experience seasons when God feels absent.
The biblical record offers surprising comfort as we discover King David—the man after God's own heart—feeling forgotten by God, Job questioning why he was ever born, and even Jesus crying out about abandonment on the cross. These weren't spiritual lightweights; they were giants of faith who struggled with the very same questions that keep us up at night.
We unpack three profound reasons God sometimes goes quiet: correction that lovingly redirects our path, development that deepens our character, and testing that reveals the authenticity of our faith. Each silence serves a purpose far beyond what we can see in the moment. Through biblical examples and practical wisdom, we explore how to respond when heaven feels shut up—continuing to pray though answers seem delayed, choosing trust when feelings fail, persisting in seeking though doors remain closed, and learning the power of being still.
Perhaps most transformative is the revelation that God's silence isn't spiritual abandonment but sacred craftsmanship. Like a sculptor focused on his masterpiece or a surgeon concentrated on healing, sometimes God is quiet because He's working with precision in our lives. The silence that feels like punishment often becomes the soil where the deepest spiritual growth takes place.
Whether you're questioning God's love because of unanswered prayers or wondering if your faith is deficient because you don't feel His presence, this episode offers both compassion for your struggle and hope for your journey. The silence is not the end of your story—it's merely a chapter in a greater narrative God is writing with perfect wisdom and timing. Your midnight questions are valid, your wrestling is real, and in that honest struggle, you're in the best possible company with saints who have walked this path before you.
Keep chasing after God
Welcome to the God Chaser podcast, where we pursue the heart of God and explore the depths of His wisdom. I'm your host, evan Evans. You know that feeling when you're lying in bed at 2 am staring at the ceiling and the silence is so thick you can almost touch it. Your prayers feel like they're bouncing off the walls. Your heart is crying out to God, but it feels like he's somewhere else entirely. Maybe you've been there this week, maybe you're there right now. Welcome to the God Chaser podcast. I'm your host, evan Evans, and if you're new here, let me tell you what this is about.
Speaker 1:This isn't your typical feel-good Christian podcast where everything gets wrapped up in a neat little bow. This is for the restless souls who are tired of shallow answers and churchy slogans. Soulless souls who are tired of shallow answers and churchy slogans. We're diving deep into the questions. We whisper but don't say out loud in Sunday service.
Speaker 1:Our last series took us through finding Jesus through the Bible, and what a journey that was. We discovered him in the Old Testament shadows, in the prophecies, in the types and figures that all pointed to the coming Messiah. But now we're moving into something different, something raw, something that might make you squirm a little, because we're going where the comfortable Christian conversations don't usually go. This series is called the Questions no One's Asking, and we're starting with the big one. The question that haunts believers from the brand new Christian to the seasoned saint why does God feel so silent?
Speaker 1:If you've ever wondered if your prayers are making it past the ceiling, if you've ever felt like God went on vacation and forgot to tell you, if you've ever questioned whether he's really listening or if you're just talking to yourself, this episode is for you. We're going to pull back the curtain on what real faith looks like when heaven feels quiet. Remember, this podcast is here to help you study, not just listen. As we go through these episodes, I want you taking notes. Let the Word of God enrich you. Don't just consume this content. Study what you hear and learn with the help of the Holy Spirit. He's your teacher and I'm just here to point you back to the Word. So grab your Bible, open your heart and let's walk into the uncomfortable spaces where real faith gets tested. Let's talk about divine silence.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the God Chaser podcast, the ultimate destination for those yearning to cultivate a passionate, intimate relationship with God. Join your host, evan Evans, as he explores the depths of Scripture, shares inspiring testimonies and provides practical guidance to help you become a true God Chaser. Why does God feel so silent?
Speaker 1:Let me start by welcoming you to the God Chaser podcast. I'm Evan Evans, and if this is your first time joining us, you've stepped into something different. This isn't the place for surface-level Christianity or feel-good platitudes that make everyone comfortable. This is where we go deep into the questions that keep believers up at night, the ones we're afraid to ask out loud because we think it might make us look weak in our faith. Our last series walked us through finding Jesus through the Bible, and what an incredible journey that was. We saw him in Genesis. We found him in the Exodus. We discovered him in Genesis. We found him in the Exodus. We discovered him in the Psalms and the Prophets. Every page pointed to the coming Messiah and we traced his footsteps from promise to fulfillment. But now we're shifting gears into something that might be even more necessary addressing the questions that make us squirm. This new series is called the Questions no One's Asking, and we're starting with perhaps the most universal struggle in the Christian life the silence of God. Before we dive in, let me remind you that this podcast is here to help you study, not just passively listen, take notes, look up these scriptures for yourself. Let the Holy Spirit be your teacher as we walk through God's Word together. So let's get uncomfortable. Let's talk about what it feels like when heaven goes quiet. You know the feeling. Maybe it happened last week, maybe it's happening right now as you listen to this. You're lying in bed and the weight of your situation is pressing down on your chest like a stone. Your marriage is falling apart, your finances are in shambles, your health is failing, your kids are making choices that break your heart and you pray. You pray with everything in you, pouring out your heart to a God who promised to hear you, promised to answer, promised to never leave you. And then silence, not just quiet Silence, the kind of silence that makes you wonder if anyone is actually listening. The kind of silence that makes you question whether your prayers are making it past the ceiling fan. The kind of silence that has you googling unanswered prayer at 2 am, desperately searching for someone else who understands what it feels like when God seems to have gone on vacation without leaving a forwarding address. If that's you, let me tell you something right up front you are not weak in your faith. You are not a second-class Christian. You are not doing something wrong. You are human and you are in incredibly good company.
Speaker 1:Let's start with King David, the man after God's own heart, the shepherd boy who became king, the warrior poet who wrote half the Psalms. This man had an intimate relationship with God that most of us only dream about. And listen to what he wrote in Psalm 13, verse 1 to 2. O Lord, how long will you forget me Forever? How long will you look the other way? Did you catch that? David felt forgotten by God. He felt like God was looking the other way. This wasn't a moment of weakness. This was raw honesty from someone who knew God intimately but was still wrestling with his apparent absence. David didn't sugarcoat it. He didn't wrap it in religious language to make it sound more spiritual. He said what many of us are afraid to say. God, it feels like you've forgotten me, but David wasn't alone in this experience.
Speaker 1:Let's look at Job, a man the Bible describes as blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. Job, chapter 1. Verse 1 tells us he was the greatest man among all the people of the east. This wasn't some backslidden believer or someone living in rebellion. This was the cream of the east. This wasn't some backslidden believer or someone living in rebellion. This was the cream of the crop.
Speaker 1:And when disaster struck his life, listen to his response in Job, chapter 3, verse 1 to 3. At last Job spoke and he cursed the day of his birth. He said let the day of my birth be erased. And the night I was conceived. And Job was so overwhelmed by his circumstances and God's apparent silence that he wished he had never been born.
Speaker 1:This man, who had walked with God, who had been blessed beyond measure, reached a point where the silence was so deafening that existence itself felt unbearable. And if we need the ultimate example, we have Jesus, himself unbearable. And if we need the ultimate example, we have Jesus himself, the Son of God, perfect in every way, hanging on a cross and crying out in Matthew, chapter 27, verse 46, my God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Even Jesus, emmanuel, god with us, experienced what felt like abandonment from his Father in his moment of greatest need. So if you've been lying awake, wondering if God cares, if your prayers matter, if he's even listening, you're standing in a long line of believers who have felt exactly the same way.
Speaker 1:The silence of God is not a sign of his absence. It's a documented part of the human experience with the divine, but why? Why would a loving God who promises to hear our prayers sometimes seem so distant? Why would a father who claims to care about our needs sometimes feel unreachable? The Bible gives us several reasons, and understanding them can help us navigate these difficult seasons with greater faith and less fear. Let's be honest about something most Christians don't want to discuss.
Speaker 1:Sometimes God's silence is corrective. Sometimes there's something in our lives that needs to be addressed, and His quietness is designed to get our attention. Hebrews 12, verse 6-7 tells us, for the Lord disciplines those he loves and he punishes each one he accepts as His child. As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. This isn't punishment in the sense of vindictive payback. This is the loving correction of a father who sees what we can't see and knows what we need better than we do.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we get so busy talking that we forget to listen. Sometimes we get so focused on our wants that we ignore his will. Sometimes we drift so far from his heart that silence becomes the only thing loud enough to get our attention. I remember a season in my own life when I was pursuing something that looked good on the surface but was actually taking me away from God's best for me. I prayed and prayed for God to open doors, to make a way to bless my efforts. The silence was deafening. It wasn't until I stopped pushing my agenda and started asking what he wanted that I realized his silence had been his answer all along. He wasn't ignoring me. He was protecting me from myself.
Speaker 1:Psalm 32, verse 8 to 9, gives us insight into how God guides us. The Lord says I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control. Sometimes his guidance comes through his voice. Sometimes it comes through his voice, sometimes it comes through his silence. Both are forms of communication from a father who loves us too much to let us wander into danger.
Speaker 1:Other times, god's silence is not corrective but developmental. He's not trying to stop us from something. He's trying to grow something in us. There's a profound difference between discipline and development, and learning to distinguish between the two can transform how we respond to seasons of divine quiet. Isaiah, chapter 55, verse 8 to 9, reveals the heart of this. My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord, and my ways are far beyond anything you. God operates from a perspective we simply don't have. He sees the end from the beginning. He knows what's coming around, corners we haven't even reached yet. He understands connections and consequences that are completely invisible to us. Sometimes his silence is an invitation to trust him in the dark. It's an opportunity to prove that our faith is based on who he is, not just on what he does for us. This kind of silence deepens our relationship with him because it forces us to rely on his character rather than his performance.
Speaker 1:Think about Abraham. God promised him a son, but then years passed in silence no updates, no progress reports, no encouraging words, just silence. And in that silence Abraham had to decide whether God was trustworthy based on his character, or whether his faith was dependent on immediate results. Romans, chapter 4, verse 18 to 20, tells us even when there was no reason for hope, abraham kept hoping, believing that he would become the father of many nations, for God had said to him that's how many descendants you will have. And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though at about 100 years of age he figured his body was as good as dead, and so was Sarah's womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger and in this he brought glory to God. Abraham's faith actually grew stronger in the silence. The waiting didn't weaken his trust. It refined it. The quiet seasons taught him that God's timing is perfect, even when it doesn't make sense to us.
Speaker 1:There's a third reason for God's silence that we see repeatedly throughout Scripture Testing. Not testing to trip us up or to make us fail, but testing to reveal what's really in our hearts. Testing to prove the genuineness of our faith, both to ourselves and to the watching world. Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verse 2, explains this principle. Remember how the Lord, your God, led you through the wilderness for these 40 years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. God led the Israelites into the wilderness specifically to test them. The silence, the waiting, the uncertainty, all of it was designed to reveal what was really in their hearts.
Speaker 1:James, chapter 1, verse 2 to 4, gives us the New Testament perspective. Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy, for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow, so let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. Testing reveals authenticity. It shows whether our faith is genuine or superficial, whether we're following God for who he is or just for what we can get from him. The silence becomes a laboratory where the reality of our relationship with God is examined and proved. Consider Job again. Satan's accusation in Job, chapter 1, verse 9 to 11, was essentially this Job only serves you because you bless him. Take away the blessings and he'll curse you to your face. God allowed the testing not because he doubted Job, but because the test would prove Job's faithfulness to everyone watching. The silence Job experienced wasn't abandonment. It was an opportunity for his faith to be displayed on the largest possible stage.
Speaker 1:Sometimes God is quiet because he's giving us the opportunity to show him ourselves and the world around us, that our faith is real, that we don't serve Him just for the benefits package, that we love Him for who he is, not just for what he does. So what do we do when God feels silent? How do we respond when heaven seems shut up and our prayers feel like they're bouncing off brass? The Bible gives us clear direction for navigating these seasons. First, we keep praying. This might seem counterintuitive why would you keep talking to someone who doesn't seem to be listening? But 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 17 is clear Never stop praying. Not pray when you feel like it or pray when you see results. Never stop praying.
Speaker 1:Luke 18.1 tells us that Jesus told his disciples a story to show them that they should always pray and never give up. The context of this verse is crucial. Jesus was teaching about perseverance in prayer precisely because there would be times when it felt pointless, when answers seemed delayed, when God appeared distant. The persistent prayer is not about wearing God down or convincing him to change his mind. It's about positioning our hearts to receive what he wants to give us. It's about maintaining connection even when we can't feel it. It's about choosing faith over feelings.
Speaker 1:Daniel gives us a powerful example of this in Daniel, chapter 10. He had been praying and fasting for three weeks and it seemed like nothing was happening. Then an angel appeared to him and said in verse 12, don't be afraid, daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. The delay wasn't because God wasn't listening. It was because there was spiritual warfare happening behind the scenes that Daniel couldn't see. Your prayers are heard from the moment you pray them. God's silence doesn't mean God's absence. Keep praying anyway.
Speaker 1:Second, we keep trusting Proverbs. Chapter 3, verse 5 to 6, instructs us trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take. Trust isn't based on understanding. If we had to understand everything God was doing before we trusted Him, we'd never trust Him at all, because His ways are infinitely higher than ours.
Speaker 1:Trust is a choice, not a feeling. It's deciding that God's character is consistent regardless of our circumstances. It's believing that his love for us doesn't fluctuate based on how we feel about our situation. It's holding on to truth when emotions are unreliable. Habakkuk gives us a beautiful picture of this kind of trust in Habakkuk, chapter 3, verse 17-18. Even though the fig trees have no blossoms and there are no grapes on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields lie empty and barren, even though the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. This is trust in its purest form. Not trust because everything is going well, but trust despite everything going wrong. Trust not because we can trace God's hand, but because we know His heart.
Speaker 1:Third, we keep knocking. Matthew, chapter 7, verse 7 to 8, reminds us Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks the door will be opened. The verb tenses here indicate continuous action. Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Don't quit just because the first knock doesn't open the door. Don't stop just because the first prayer doesn't bring immediate results.
Speaker 1:Persistence in prayer is not about changing God's mind. It's about aligning our hearts with His will and timing. Jesus told another parable in Luke, chapter 11, verse 5 to 8, about a man who needed bread at midnight and kept knocking on his friend's door until the friend got up and gave him what he needed. The point isn't that God is reluctant to help us and needs to be pestered into action. The point is that persistence in prayer demonstrates the sincerity of our need and keeps us positioned to receive when God is ready to give.
Speaker 1:Fourth, sometimes the most powerful thing we can do in God's silence is to be silent ourselves. Psalm 46, verse 10, says Be still and know that I am God. Sometimes we're so busy talking, so busy asking, so busy trying to figure things out that we don't leave space for God to work or speak in his own way and timing. Being still doesn't mean being passive. It means stopping our frantic activity long enough to remember who God is. It means choosing to rest in his sovereignty instead of exhausting ourselves trying to control outcomes we were never meant to control. Elijah discovered this in 1 Kings, chapter 19. He was looking for God in the wind, the earthquake and the fire, all the dramatic, obvious places, but God wasn't in any of those. Verse 12 tells us that after all the noise and commotion, there was a gentle whisper, and that's where God was. Sometimes we miss God's voice because we're listening for earthquakes when he's speaking in whispers. Here's what you need to know when God feels silent, his silence is not his absence. His quietness is not his abandonment. The fact that you can't hear him doesn't mean he's not there.
Speaker 1:Deuteronomy, chapter 31, verse 6, promises so be strong and courageous, do not be afraid and do not panic before them, for the Lord, your God, will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. This promise was given to Joshua as he prepared to lead Israel into the promised land, a task that must have felt overwhelming and uncertain. God didn't promise that the journey would be easy or that Joshua would always feel his presence. He promised that he would never leave him or abandon him. Jesus echoed this promise in Matthew, chapter 28, verse 20,. And be sure of this I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Always doesn't mean just when you feel him. Always doesn't mean just when things are going well. Always means always in the silence and in the sound, in the questions and in the answers, in the darkness and in the light. Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 5, reinforces this truth. For God has said I will never fail you, I will never abandon you. The author of Hebrews was writing to believers who were facing persecution, who had every reason to feel abandoned by God. But the promise stands God will never leave you.
Speaker 1:Here's something that might challenge your thinking. What if, sometimes God's silence isn't the absence of an answer, but the answer itself. What if the quiet isn't God ignoring your prayer, but God responding to it in a way you didn't expect? Think about it. When you ask God for patience, does he usually just download patience into your heart or does he put you in situations that require patience? When you ask for faith, does he typically just increase your faith supernaturally or does he allow circumstances that make faith necessary? When you ask for character, does he wave a magic wand or does he permit trials that develop character? Sometimes the silence is God saying I'm answering your prayer, but not in the way you expected. Sometimes the waiting is the answer, because what you need most isn't the thing you're asking for, but the character that develops while you wait for it.
Speaker 1:Moses asked to see God's glory in Exodus, chapter 33, verse 18. God's response wasn't to give Moses a complete revelation of his glory. That would have killed him. Instead, god hid Moses in the cleft of a rock and let his goodness pass by. God answered Moses' prayer, but not in the way Moses expected. The limitation wasn't rejection, it was protection. Paul asked three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 8 9. God's answer wasn't healing, it was grace. My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. God answered Paul's prayer, but the answer was strength to endure rather than removal of the problem.
Speaker 1:Sometimes God's silence is his way of saying I'm giving you something better than what you're asking for. I'm giving you me. Let me give you some practical handles for when God feels distant. First, examine your heart honestly. Is there unconfessed sin creating a barrier? Psalm 66, verse 18, says If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. This doesn't mean every silence is because of sin, but it's worth checking. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal anything that needs to be made right. Second, check your motives. James, chapter 4, verse 3, tells us and even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong. You want only what will give you pleasure.
Speaker 1:Sometimes God is quiet because what we're asking for isn't in our best interest, even though we think it is. Are you asking for God's will or your own will, with God's blessing? Third, consider his timing. Ecclesiastes 3, verse 1 reminds us For everything there is a season, a time, for every activity under heaven. God's timing is perfect, even when it doesn't align with our schedule. Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac. Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness before leading Israel out of Egypt. Jesus waited 30 years before beginning his public ministry. God's delays are not God's denials. Fourth, surround yourself with mature believers. Galatians chapter 6, verse 2, instructs us to share each other's burdens and in this way, obey the law of Christ.
Speaker 1:Isolation during seasons of silence can lead to deception and discouragement. Find people who will pray with you, encourage you and speak truth to you when your perspective gets skewed. Fifth, keep reading His Word. Romans 10, verse 17 tells us that faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the good news about Christ. Even when God feels silent, his Word is still speaking. Let Scripture shape your thoughts and feelings, rather than letting your thoughts and feelings interpret scripture. Here's something beautiful about God's silence it often comes right before the breakthrough. The darkest hour is just before dawn. The silence can signal that something significant is about to happen.
Speaker 1:Think about the three days between Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. For the disciples, those were the quietest, darkest, most hopeless days they had ever experienced. Everything they had believed in seemed to have died on a cross. God felt more absent than he had ever felt. And yet, behind the scenes, the greatest victory in human history was being accomplished. The silence wasn't the end of the story. It was the pause before the most glorious chapter ever written.
Speaker 1:Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick in John, chapter 11, verse 3. Verse 6 tells us that when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for the next two days. From Mary and Martha's perspective, jesus' delay must have felt like abandonment. Why wouldn't he come immediately? Why would he wait when someone he loved was dying? But Jesus knew something they didn't know. He wasn't late. He was right on time. His delay wasn't indifference. It was divine timing. He allowed Lazarus to die so that he could demonstrate his power over death itself. The silence wasn't the absence of love. It was love operating on a level they couldn't yet understand.
Speaker 1:Let's address something head on, because I know some of you are listening and thinking this is all nice, but what about when the healing doesn't come? What about when the marriage ends anyway? What about when the job doesn't materialize? What about when the prodigal child doesn't come home? This is where faith gets real. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we discover whether our faith is in God's performance or in God's person.
Speaker 1:The three Hebrew boys in Daniel, chapter 3, face this exact dilemma. Standing before Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace, they said in verse 17 to 18, if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, your majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up, but even if he doesn't. That's the statement of mature faith. That's the declaration of someone whose trust is in God's character, not just in God's intervention. They believed God could save them, but they were prepared to trust him, even if he chose not to.
Speaker 1:Sometimes the silence continues, sometimes the healing doesn't come, sometimes the situation doesn't change. And in those moments we have a choice. We can become bitter or we can become better. We can question God's love or we can rest in his sovereignty. We can demand answers or we can rest in his sovereignty. We can demand answers or we can trust his wisdom.
Speaker 1:Job lost everything his children, his wealth, his health, his wife's support. His friends accused him of secret sin. God seemed absent when Job needed him most, but at the end of the book, job made this declaration in Job, chapter 42, verse 2 to 3,. Job made this declaration in Job, chapter 42, verse 2 to 3. I know that you can do anything and no one can stop you. You asked who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? It is I, and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. Job never got all his questions answered. He never fully understood why he had to suffer, but he encountered God in a way he never had before, and that encounter was enough.
Speaker 1:If you study the lives of great men and women of faith throughout history, you'll discover that their most significant growth happened not during the mountaintop experiences, but during the valley seasons. Not when God was speaking loudly, but when he was quiet. Not when everything was going well, but when everything seemed to be falling apart. David's most beautiful psalms were written during his most difficult seasons. Paul's most profound theological insights came from prison cells. Job's greatest revelation of God came after his greatest loss.
Speaker 1:The silence that feels like punishment is often the soil where the deepest spiritual growth takes place. Why? Because easy seasons don't require much faith. When everything is going your way, when prayers are being answered immediately, when life is smooth, you don't need much trust in God's character, because His blessings are obvious. But when he's silent, when the way forward is unclear, when you can't trace His hand, that's when faith has room to grow. That's when trust has space to develop. That's when your relationship with God moves from being based on His benefits to being based on His being.
Speaker 1:Here's a perspective shift that might change everything. What if God's silence is sacred? What if the quiet seasons aren't interruptions in your spiritual journey but integral parts of it? What if the times when God feels absent are actually the times when he's working most intimately in your life? A sculptor doesn't talk to the marble while he's chiseling. He's completely focused on the work, completely absorbed in the process of bringing out the beauty that's hidden in the stone.
Speaker 1:Sometimes God is quiet because he's working. Sometimes the silence is the sound of divine craftsmanship. A surgeon doesn't narrate the operation to the patient. The patient is unconscious, unable to see or understand what's happening, but the surgeon is working with precision and skill to bring healing. Sometimes God's silence isn't absence, it's focus. He's so concentrated on what he's doing in your life that explanations would only distract from the process. Think about the nine months a baby spends in the womb. From the baby's perspective it's darkness, silence, isolation. But from the parent's perspective it's a time of incredible growth, development and preparation. The most important work is happening in the quiet, hidden place. Sometimes God's silence is the sound of gestation. Something beautiful is being formed, but it's not time for the revelation yet.
Speaker 1:Let me speak directly to where some of you might be right now. If you're in a season where God feels distant because of your own choices, because you've walked away from Him or disobeyed His clear direction, the silence might be conviction, but it's not condemnation. 1 John 1, verse 9 promises. 1 John 1, verse 9 promises. But if we confess our sins to Him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. Come home, the Father is watching for you.
Speaker 1:If you're in a season where you've been faithful, you've been obedient, but God still feels silent, you might be in a testing season, like Job. Hold on. Your faithfulness in the silence is being noticed, not just by God, but by all of heaven. Your perseverance is writing a story that will encourage others for generations. If you're in a season where you're asking God for something good, something that aligns with His will, but the silence continues, you might be in a waiting season, like Abraham. God's timing is perfect. Even when it doesn't make sense to us, what he's preparing for you is worth the wait.
Speaker 1:If you're in a season where you've experienced loss, where prayers for healing or restoration weren't answered the way you hoped, where prayers for healing or restoration weren't answered the way you hoped, you might be in a refining season. Romans 8, verse 28 is still true, and we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. For them, everything includes the silences, everything includes the unanswered prayers, everything includes the losses that don't make sense. Here's what I want you to hold on to as we finish this episode. The silence is not the end of your story. God's quietness is not His final word. His apparent absence is not His actual absence. His apparent absence is not his actual absence.
Speaker 1:The Bible is full of stories that looked hopeless in the middle but had glorious endings. Abraham and Sarah's old age looked like the end of God's promise, until Isaac was born. Joseph's slavery and imprisonment looked like the end of his dreams until he became second in command in Egypt. Moses', exile in the wilderness, looked like the end of his calling until God spoke from the burning bush. David's years running from Saul looked like the end of his anointing until he became king. Esther's people facing genocide looked like the end of God's covenant until she found favor with the king. The disciples watching Jesus die looked like the end of the kingdom covenant until she found favor with the king. The disciples watching Jesus die looked like the end of the kingdom until the resurrection. Your current silence is not the end of your story. It's a chapter, but it's not the conclusion.
Speaker 1:God is still writing, still working, still loving you, even when you can't feel it. As we wrap up this first episode in our series, the Questions no One's Asking, I want to leave you with this truth God's silence doesn't diminish His love for you. His quietness doesn't reduce His power. His apparent absence doesn't change His promises. The silence you're experiencing right now, whether it's been days, months or years, is not wasted time. It's not God ignoring you. It's not evidence that you've done something wrong or that your faith is insufficient. It's part of a larger story that you can't see yet, but that God is writing with perfect wisdom and timing. When you can't hear His voice, remember His word. When you can't feel His voice, remember His word. When you can't feel His presence, remember His promises. When you can't understand His ways, remember His character. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is faithful even when we are faithless. He is present, even when he feels absent.
Speaker 1:Your 2 am questions are valid. Your wrestling is real. Your struggle with God's silence doesn't make you weak. It makes you human. And in that humanity, in that honest wrestling, in that refusal to pretend everything is fine when it's not, you're in the best possible company with saints who have walked this path before you. Keep praying, keep trusting, keep knocking, Keep being still and knowing that he is God. The silence will not last forever, but the character that's being formed in you during the silence will last for eternity.
Speaker 1:Don't just listen to this episode, study it. Look up these scriptures for yourself. Let the Holy Spirit teach you through his word. Take notes, ask questions. Let this be the beginning of a deeper conversation with God about the real stuff of faith. Next week we're diving into another question that keeps believers up at night Does God still heal, or am I fooling myself? We're going to tackle the hard questions about divine healing, why some people get their miracles and others don't, and what it means to have faith for healing in a broken world. Until then, remember you are not alone in your questions. You are not forgotten in your silence. You are not abandoned in your silence. You are not abandoned in your waiting. God is with you, working in you and writing a story through you that is far more beautiful than you can imagine. This episode of the God Chaser podcast is proudly sponsored by God Chaser Apparel, the clothing line designed to empower and inspire your spiritual journey.
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Speaker 1:May you not just chase God but find him in the blessings, big and small, that he has in store for you. And there we have it, folks. Another episode of God Chaser wrapped up. We hope you've been blessed by today's discussion and we look forward to diving into more life-transforming topics with you in the future. Stay blessed and keep chasing after God, Thank you.