Part 1: Reflections on a Quiet God

How do we deal with a God who doesn't answer, or doesn't seem to answer in the time frame we need,  or doesn't answer the way we need Him to answer?

I was confronted with these questions in 2009 when I was laid-off.  For many years I have had a solid relationship with God, characterized by regular communication, insight and a general sense that God would always tell me when He was doing something new in my life.  Then I entered into a season unlike anything I had ever experienced before - God was quiet!  I knew 6 months before I got laid-off that I was going to be laid-off, the week I was laid-off I felt like God said not to worry, that He had taken care of it, and then for about 5 months, silence!! 

I was diligently seeking God every day, working to find a job every day, pounding the Heaven's every day, and nothing!  No indication how it was going to work out, no other encouragement, nothing.  The longer the time without a job, the more things were uncertain.  I couldn't find a job in my city, in my industry, anywhere - and I didn't know where to turn - and God was silent.  I told several friends that I felt like I was in a cloud, I didn't know where I was, or where I was going, and had nothing to guide me. The silence was deafening!  I fasted, I prayed, still silence.  In fact, not only was God silent, but I even went two months without a single call or email from any of the hundreds of companies I was contacting.

It was a time of complete surrender, I thought, as everything seemed to be in play - we didn't know where we would live (city or house), what I would do for a job, where we would go to church, how we would afford to sell our house in a rapidly disintegrating housing market, etc.  We tried to lay everything on the table, waiting on God to tell us what to do.

In the midst of all this - God was quiet.

There were many questions in our minds and hearts.  Were we in sin?  Did we miss God's will somewhere? Was God testing us - if so, what was He testing?  Why was He silent?  Did we lose our ability to hear His voice?  Was my whole life a mistake?  What things were we supposed to hold onto, what things were we supposed to release?  What about college for my kids?  I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg!  I guess you could say God was shaking every part of us and our lives.  

It was uncomfortable to say the least - but all we could do was wait.