It’s a given. In this life we all will go through times of difficulty, even of pain and suffering. For those who believe in God, it is during those times that we pray to him for relief. That is almost the immediate response to such circumstances. But sometimes relief doesn’t come as quickly as we desire. We then ask that, at least, God would give us guidance and strength as we go through the painful experience. Yet it seems that he doesn’t respond. We complain: “What’s going on?” We echo the disciples when they accused the Lord: “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” (Mark 4.38 NET) And it feels very much like what Jesus himself expressed when he cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27.46) And God remains silent!
I recently came across a quote from Lincoln Brewster (who quotes an unnamed mentor): “Sometimes the teacher doesn’t talk during the test.” Hmmm. In the context of the classroom, a test is the time when the student is given the opportunity to put into practice or apply what he or she is supposed to have learned already. It is no longer the time for a lecture or discussion. The test is the means by which the student gets to find out if he really knows what he claims he has learned. Whether the student passes the test or not, it’s a time of growth for the student. And the wise teacher will not rob the student of this growth opportunity.
Followers of Christ do recognize that the difficult times that we face are often times of testing or trials. The silence of God does not necessarily mean he has abandoned us. But his greater purpose is to accomplish the greater good of forming Christ in us (Romans 8.28-29). And that usually happens through times of testing. No wonder Scripture has a positive perspective when it comes to our times of difficulty.
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12 NIV). “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6–7 NIV; see also James 1:2–4).
The silent God is the God who still is at work in and around us for our ultimate good. It is to our benefit that we will continue to trust him through it all.
—Keith Y. Jainga