God’s Silence Is Not Absence

February 24

Psalm 13:1–2

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

‭‭There are seasons when heaven feels quiet. Not hostile or closed. But just quiet. You would welcome some clear sign writing in the sky or an audible voice.

Psalm 13 gives voice to that. David does not pretend everything feels fine. He asks the question many of us whisper but rarely say out loud, “How long?” How long will this tension last? How long will this prayer seem unanswered? How long will my heart feel stretched between promise and reality?

Silence can feel like distance. But silence is not absence.

A parent can be silent and still be present. A teacher can be quiet while still be guiding. A surgeon can be focused and still be saving. In the same way, God’s quietness does not mean He has withdrawn. It often means He is working in ways we cannot yet see.

Psalm 13 does not end in despair either. It turns because he remembers to trust. David remembers who God is. He anchors himself in the character of the One who holds him.

And this matters as we stand on the edge of Isaiah. Isaiah will speak of judgment and hope, exile and restoration, silence and promise. There will be long stretches where God seems distant. Four hundred years will pass between the final prophet and the cry of the baby, the promise when He arrives in Bethlehem. And yet not one promise will fail.

Silence was not absence then and silence is not absence now.

If you are in a quiet season, do not interpret stillness or silence as abandonment. The God who formed you and formed the covenant, who kept the promise, who sent The Servant, does not disappear in the waiting.

Sometimes silence is preparation. Sometimes it is protection. Sometimes silence is invitation.

Just a few more days of February. Here comes Isaiah ch 40-66. And Isaiah will teach us that God is still working, even when He seems quiet.

Hold steady. He is nearer than you think.

Selah.