Is God Silent?

If God is really with me, why is he allowing this to happen? 

Maybe for you, it's a job loss that led you to question God's presence in your life. Or  maybe it's the death of a loved one, a failed marriage, or a disease that is ravaging your body. For me, it was our miscarriages. 

The first loss, I understood. One in three pregnancies end in miscarriage, so it made sense for me to lose one. But then came number two, number three, and number four. 

One loss I could wrap my head around, but not four. 

After that fourth miscarriage, all I wanted was for God to do something-anything- to show me he saw me. To show me he cared. 

What I failed to realize was that he was doing something. 

Stick with me for a minute as I try to explain... Back in the Old Testament days, God was very active among his people. Picture Moses and the burning bush, the cloud that led the Israelites through the desert, and the loud voice from heaven. God was the opposite of silent in those days. 

Sometimes, I wish for that in my life. I wish God would just show himself. To speak to me like he used to speak to the Israelites. But here's the thing. When God spoke to the Israelites, they weren't comforted. Instead, they were terrified. 

God being present in their lives, instead of creating intimacy, created fear. Maybe that's why he changed it up a little bit in the New Testament.

In the Gospels, God came in the form of Jesus-much less intimidating and much more approachable. Move a little further to the book of Acts, and God came in the form of the Holy Spirit. It was like he was moving closer and closer to us. Now, instead of speaking to us through a cloud in the sky, he speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. 

I've known for years the Holy Spirit lives inside of the Church, but for some reason the implications of this reality didn't stick until recently. 

God speaking to us through the Holy Spirit means he is speaking to us through other people.  So in essence, when one of my friends hugged me, so did God. When one of my friends shared words of encouragement, it was as if God was speaking through her. 

Is God silent? 

No. His communication is just different now than it used to be.  It's more indirect now. Not quite so obvious. 

But it's still there (assuming, of course, that we-as His mouthpiece-are choosing to speak). 

Let's talk. Have you ever wondered about the presence of God in your life?