InterVarsity Press

Conversations: Is God Silent?

Wayne:

I recently wrote to you about God's silence regarding an issue about which I had been praying for about 15 years. I received no guidance or answers from God and I was depressed. Well, a couple of days after I wrote to you, an event occurred that told me God was still there.

A coworker asked if I wanted to go out with him to a construction site for an inspection. I said yes. On our way, we got lost and turned down a side street. On this street was an old rundown church. My friend remarked, "Why do people design such ugly buildings? Take that church, for instance." I glanced at the church, not particularly paying attention, when I noticed the sign out front. The message on the sign said, "If God is Silent." My eyes bugged out of my head. I thought about that sign all day and I got the strange feeling that God was smiling; smiling like the Cheshire cat. I know it sounds funny, but I felt like God was saying "I may be silent, but that doesn't mean I am not there."

Ruth:

Thanks so much for writing back. Your message warmed my heart and it wonderfully brought together my two most recent books, God Talk (IVP) and Left Behind in a Mega-church World (Baker Books).

In God Talk I maintain that God is not chatty like we humans are. God is most often silent (except through the Bible and the "Book of Nature"). But this silence should not cause us to despair. Indeed, we ought to feel safe in the silence of God—to actually come to appreciate God's silence.

In Left Behind I talk about churches that are struggling to compete in a corporate church world. Sometimes they appear to be real losers, but God is often working in incredible ways that would not catch the attention of a church growth expert. Your example of the sign on the old rundown church you saw is a perfect example. Thank you for bringing a smile to my busy day!

I hope that in some way my words can help you.