The Gift of Darkness: When God is Silent

Copyright: South Bay Community Church
Sermon Reflections: The Gift of Darkness: When God is Silent
Date: 21 May 2023
 Speaker: Lead Pastor Tammy Long
Scripture Texts: Job 23:1-9; Job 30:20; Job 42:1-3

Sermon Preamble
            We continue our sermon series on The Gift of Darkness. In this message, we will consider the gift of darkness when God seems silent. Earlier in this sermon series we noted that God is as comfortable operating in the darkness as in light. When God appears to go silent, God goes dark. Going dark is a military term for a sudden termination of communication, such as from a public channel to a private channel. It may appear to us that communication with God has ceased, but, in reality, it has simply moved to another channel. Followers of Christ will face times in our lives when our communication with God goes dark and seems silent. For example there may be times when you pray, and you get nothing. There may be times when you feel like saying, “Hello, is anybody there?! Are you even listening?”  When God seems silent, we can feel alone, abandoned, anxious, frustrated, disappointed, and distant from God. We don’t understand it, especially if we are used to feeling God’s presence or used to God speaking, leading, and guiding us. God has gifts for us in the midst of the darkness of seeming to be silent. Those gifts in the darkness of God’s silence include reflection and self-examination, deepening trust and faith, humility and surrender, and drawing closer to God in intimate silence.

God’s silence can feel excruciating, but there are gifts when God goes dark in silence
            We can feel fear, agony, and even some panic when it seems God is silent. CS Lewis wrote, “you go to God when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? You find a door slammed in your face, a sound of bolting, and double bolting on the inside. After that is silence.” David wrote in Psalm 28, “I pray to you, O Lord, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me, for if you are silent, I might as well give up and die.” (Psalm 28:1). There can be a sense of desperation when God appears to be silent. It is one thing to not see God in the darkness or not to know what God is doing. However, not to hear God takes darkness to a whole different level.
            Let’s consider the biblical account of Job to see that there are indeed gifts for us in the darkness of God’s silence.

Job was righteous and prosperous, and then his faith was tested
            Job was a man of deep faith and had a close personal relationship with God:  “There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless – a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.” (Job 1:1-3).
            Without Job knowing, God gave Satan permission to test Job’s faithfulness by stripping Job of everything Job held dear, up to his life. That may seem unusual or unfair, but God must have trusted Job to allow Satan to test Job. God knew what Job could handle. God had the greater purpose that Job would gain and grow from the test. Job doesn’t know what is happening between God and Satan and is thrust into a season of pain and suffering with cascading tragedies, one right after the other. Job lost everything: his fields were attacked and all his cattle stolen; a fire burned all of his sheep and the servants; a raiding party took all his camels and murdered the caretakers; all his children were killed when the house collapsed from a strong wind. All happened on the same day! As soon as Job learned about one tragedy, a messenger would come to inform him of another tragedy. In his trauma and grief, Job went into mourning. But he maintained his faith in God.
           
Job hears untruths from his wife and his friends
            The test continued when Satan afflicted Job with painful sores, Job was in so much pain and grief that his wife questioned how Job was still holding on to God. “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.’ He replied, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good things from God, and shall we not receive evil?’  In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:9-10).
            Then Job’s friends came. The prevailing wisdom of that day, which remains today, is: Good things happen to good people; bad things happen to bad people. Job’s friends insist that all these calamities have befallen Job because he is sinning against God and has angered God. They argue that everything that is happening is Job’s fault; Job must confess and repent, and only then will God address Job’s suffering.
            All the while, Job argues that he is innocent; he has not done anything to warrant the calamities he is experiencing.

Job cries out to God seeking a hearing before the God he knows is just
            Job is in a space of complete darkness that seems like there is no seeing God and no hearing God. Job seeks God for answers and understanding. Job keeps asking God to speak. In Job 23, “Then Job spoke again: ‘My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud. If only I knew where to find God, I would go to His court. I would lay out my case and present my arguments. Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me. Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing. Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge. I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed.’” (Job 23:1-9). Then seven chapters later in Job 30, Job cries out, “I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me.” (Job 30:20). For the first 37 chapters, Job pleads his case and waits for a response from God, but God is silent.
            When God does speak to Job in Chapters 38-42, God responds in power, strength, and authority. To this response, there is nothing Job can say. Job responds with humility, realizing that he is out of his depths when it comes to the things of God. So Job asks God to forgive him.

We learn from Job that bad things happen to good people; Yet God has the final word
            Often, when we consider the biblical account of Job, we are looking at the nature of human suffering. Even when things seem unfair and unjust, God is the one in control. Job and we are reminded that God does not have to answer to us. No matter how many times we ask or demand that God respond, God is sovereign. The Kingdom of God is not a democracy. These lessons are true.
            Let’s focus on another aspect of the Job’s story: God was silent for so long.

What about when God appears to be silent? Embrace the gifts in the darkness of silence
            God is always present, even when God is silent. There is always a purpose and plan in what God is doing. Even when God is silent, the plan is not just at the end of a dark period when the darkness is over, but the plan is operating in and through the darkness and silence.
            What are we to do when it feels like we need an answer from God, but it appears that God is not listening? What about when it appears that God has turned away from our pleas, and we are left looking up towards God with a bag full of questions?
            There are gifts to embrace in the darkness of silence. We learn from Job’s story that there are three pairs of gifts in the darkness of silence, (reflection and self-examination, deeper trust and faith, humility and surrender) along with a seventh gift (intimate connection with God).

Embedded in the darkness of silence, God offers the paired gifts of reflection and self-examination
            When life is going well and all feels as it should be with God, often we do not slow down to think about our lives, our choices, our behaviors, or even our beliefs. But when God is silent, it can be jarring. We can feel off-kilter and uncertain, alone, abandoned, anxious, frustrated, disappointed, and distant from God. Silence from God invites us to pause, cease the status quo, and look within. Job’s friends believed Job was suffering because of sins he needed to confess.
            A solid spiritual practice is to look within. As a man of spiritual integrity, Job likely took the time in silence and did the work of reflection and self–examination. As a result, Job was emphatic that he was not suffering because of unconfessed sins.
            From time to time, we all need to do introspective work before God. We need to look at our actions, our priorities, or motives, our thoughts, and our narratives. We need to ask the Spirit to open our eyes to see if there is anything that needs to be confessed, that warrants repentance, or that needs to be realigned to the ways of God.
            Sometimes, when we don’t hear God, God is not the one who is silent, but rather we are the ones who have become distant and moved out of earshot from God. When we embrace the gift of reflection and self -examination, we join with David in his prayer. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24). When we embrace the gifts of reflection and self-examination in God’s silent presence, we discover we need to realign with God’s will and ways. In that realignment, we may be surprised how well we can hear God after all!
            Like Job, lack of repentance for sins may not be our issue when God seems silent. Reflection and self-examination is a good place to start exploration. 
                       
Embedded in the darkness of silence, God offers the paired gifts of deeper trust and faith
            Job never wavered in his faith, even though he was frustrated by God’s silence. It is hard to imagine losing everything you hold dear in one day, and on top of it all, being afflicted with a debilitating physical condition. So of course, Job went into deep mourning and grief. He got depressed enough to curse the day he was born, but he never cursed God.
            Even in this darkness, pain, and misery that he vocalized, Job’s trust and faith remained strong. He declared, “Though He slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face” (Job 13:15). For Job to argue his ways to God’s face shows the honest relationship Job had with God. Job trusts in God, but also plans to argue his case. God does not condemn Job for his honesty. God can take it. Job demonstrated that even with all he was feeling, his foundation was solid because his trust, faith, and hope in God was firm.
            Even though Job may not have recognized it at the time, God was leading him into even deeper trust and faith. God was developing Job’s trust and faith muscles and stamina. When we don’t hear God, we have the opportunity to test what we know. In the darkness of silence, we can hold tightly to God’s unchanging character that we know to be true. It is unchanging that God is good, God is love, God is faithful, and God is kind. We can hold on tightly to God’s timeless promises regardless of our feelings. Those unchanging promises include that God will never leave us or forsake us, God will provide for our needs, and that God’s Spirit will guide us. We can reflect and hold on to God’s faithfulness in the past and allow it to deepen our faith and trust in the present darkness of silence.      
            Even though we may not hear or see what God is doing in the dark, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God’s purpose for our good is a truth that will certainly be accomplished. We can live based on this truth whether or not we can feel God, see God, or hear God.
            Corrie Ten Boom illustrated trust in darkness when she said, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”
            When God is silent, God invites us to open gifts of deeper trust and faith. Faith is about confident assurance in things not seen or heard, because of who God is and God’s amazing love for us (Hebrews 11:1).
 
Embedded in the darkness of silence are the gifts of humility and surrender
            When God does respond to Job, God responds in power, strength and authority. “Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’ Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Hove you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness? As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors.” (Job 37:1-14). This is only 14 verses. God continues the response for another 115 verses.
            With each verse, Job is feeling smaller with increasing humility at the grandeur and magnificence of our God. By the time God finished his responses, Job can only surrender with humility to the God he serves. “Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance? It is I – and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things too wonderful for me.” (Job 42:1-3).
            When God appears to be silent, God may not be speaking in the way that we are used to or the way we expect. God may not be responding the way we want God to respond, when we want God to respond, or how we want God to respond. Sometimes, we are waiting on an answer that God has already given us, but we do not like that answer. God is always speaking. Even silence is communication. Silence can communicate God’s message that you don’t need to know that or we don’t need to know right now. With the gifts of humility and surrender, we receive God’s communications, even in silence. As Job acknowledged, we want to dabble in things that we lack any knowledge. Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts, and our ways are not God’s ways (Isaiah 55:8).
            Notice that God never answers Job’s questions. Instead God reminds Job how grand God is. God led Job to surrender. Job’s suffering no longer matters to him because Job is in an intimate relationship with the great and only, I AM GOD.
            All four chapters of God’s speech to Job (Chapters 38-42) are about nature. When God appears silent, we need to remember that God is speaking all the time. All we have to do is stand in created nature to be reminded how Great God is and, with the gifts of humility and surrender, how small we are. God speaking through nature is proclaimed in Psalms 19: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.” (Psalms 19:1-4a).

Another gift in God’s silence is to connect with God in a more intimate way
            We are able to draw closer to God, in the intimacy of God’s silence,. When God is silent, our spiritual senses become more alert. When we connect with God, we become aware of God moments, God movements, divine appointments, and divine coincidences. In silence, God invites us into a deeper spiritual connection and communion. Like a married couple who don’t have to speak to enjoy each other or feel loved, silence can be its own communication. God’s silence offers the gift of resting in the presence of God and being content with the surety of God’s presence and God’s control.
            Silence is a gift of intimacy we learn as we embrace the silence of God. When God appears to be silent, God has not stopped communicating. God has switched to a more private channel and is inviting us to be with God in silence, experiencing the peace of God even when God is not speaking. We know that God is good and can be trusted.  God will speak when the need arises. God’s ultimate gift in the darkness of silence is to be still and know that God alone is I AM GOD (Psalm 46:10),

Immediate application of the gift to “Be Still”
            In silence, let’s view this video to experience the gift from God to “Be still.”  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FdffxL7W_4c5paFne4OCgzB5mO4-eYqJ/view

 
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDING FOR USE IN FAMILY GROUP

God’s silence can feel excruciating, but there are gifts when God goes dark in silence
-What have been your feelings when it appears that God is silent in communication to you?

Job was righteous and prosperous and then his faith was tested
-In the midst of trauma and grief, in what ways have you maintained your faith in God?
-God sometimes allows Satan, the accuser, to bring testing for growth and unjust suffering, because God has confidence that the faith of God’s servant will prevail. In order for the testing to result in growth, why is it important that Job, or you today, not be aware of all the forces inflicting pain and suffering for your spiritual growth?

Job hears untruths from his wife and his friends
Job’s wife and friends are unaware of God’s confidence that the faith of Job, or God’s servants today, will prevail through taking away our earthly possessions. Why does your faith in God stay intact even in the midst of trauma, grief, and mourning, even if family and friends do not understand the truth?

Job cries out to God seeking a hearing before the God he knows is just
-In what ways is Job being honest with God, even in the moments of deepest gloom. In that honesty, in what ways is Job maintaining his faith in God?

We learn from Job that bad things happen to good people; Yet God has the final word
-Why did bad things happen to Job, whom God called good and righteous?
-Since God is sovereign, in what ways and why is the Kingdom of God not a democracy based on a majority vote of the selfish wills of all people?    

What about when God appears to be silent? Embrace the gifts in the darkness of silence
-When we are in the darkness of what appears to be silence from God, what are we to do to embrace the gifts of God for us?

Embedded in the darkness of silence, God offers the paired gifts of reflection and self-examination
-What activities have helped you do introspective work before God, searching our actions, our priorities, our motives, our thoughts, and our narratives guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God?

Embedded in the darkness of silence, God offers the paired gifts of deeper trust and faith
-What are some elements of the unchanging character of God that can deepen your trust and faith in God even when God appears to be silent?

Embedded in the darkness of silence are the gifts of humility and surrender
-What spiritual practices, such as your communion with nature, help you with humility and surrender realize the awesomeness of the Almighty God?

Another gift in God’s silence is to connect with God in a more intimate way
-In God’s silence, what helps you be still and content in the presence and control of God without the need for words being communicated?

Immediate application of the gift to “Be Still”
-What from the video resonates with you as you “be” and you “be still” in communion with nature, as evidence that God created both you and nature reflecting the image of God?