May 6, 2021
Read: Psalm 22: 1-24
“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
No night is so dark as a night when God seems silent. No night is so long as a night when we feel forgotten and forsaken by Him. The darkness thickens as the pain increases. We cry out, ”Where are you, Lord? Why have you forsaken me?” These hours can be full of doubt and dismay as we cry with David, “Why are you so far from helping me?”
There is a reason that God sometimes seems silent. God wants each of us in our entirety. To get that, He may need to take us to the end of ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As long as we try to be in control, we are not where God wants us to be. We must become like David, in verse 6, where he saw himself as a worm and earnestly pleaded, “Be not far from me… for there is none to help… O LORD: O my strength.” Later David could testify, “For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid his face from him; but when He cried unto him, He heard.”
As an amateur astronomer, I have found that the glories of the starry hosts are best seen on the darkest nights. I have looked through my telescope, spellbound at the glory of the majesty of God. Likewise, I have seen God’s face in the dark cloud of affliction. But the darkness has become a consolation to me, a confirmation of God’s love.
On the darkest nights of your pain amid temptations to despair, lie back, relax, and gaze on the majesty of God. Cast yourself fully upon Him, and you will see His love, mercy, and kindness.
~James Baer
2 Responses
“There is a reason that God sometimes seems silent.”
And there may be more than one reason. One of the classic problems in Theology (and Philosophy) is the “Problem of Evil”, also known as Theodicy. Simply put, why does God allow evil to exist?
There are many answers proposed, but I’ve always felt the answer was Free Will. Not in the classic formulation of it (Evil is the product of Free Will, and Natural “evil” is the punishment for misusing Free Will.)
I believe that explanation “puts the cart before the horse”. The reason Evil (both Human and Natural) exists is because UNCERTAINTY about the existence of God is a necessary pre-condition for Free Will even to exist. If we knew for sure that an all-powerful God exists, who will punish Evil and reward Good, then Free Will goes flying out the window! Only by being unsure about that, only by having FAITH, but not CERTAINTY, in such a being can Free Will, and the CHOICE to be either Good or Evil, truly exist. (And remember, the Bible constantly tell us to CHOOSE the Good, and REFUSE the Evil.)
Which is why God must be “silent”. Or at least only manifest in ways that are open to doubt.
My darkness has lasted decades, all spent calling out to God for help and only hearing his rejection. There was no majesty, just abandonment. For those of us who go and endure the suffering of the horrible things God wanted for us while withholding all favor, the darkness never ends. God becomes the darkness. Why do you imply that God will do something good for everyone just because He broke them? Just because your walking the path God wants for you does not mean that it is not a horrific fate you could never wish upon another soul.