What To Do When God Is Silent
Sermon Notes
Today we’re continuing our series on a book of the bible called Psalms. It’s a series about giving us melodies of encouragement for everyday life. Everyday life is sometimes difficult and discouraging, but Psalms can give us melodies of encouragement for everyday life. The Psalm we’re studying today, can encourage us when it feels like God is silent. It’s about times when we’re praying, but it feels like God isn’t listening, it feels like he’s silent. Some of you don’t pray as much anymore, because when you prayed for something you heard... silence...Some of you are skeptics, because when you prayed for something you heard...silence...
A few years ago I had lunch with a guy who was an atheist, and I asked him why he was an atheist. He said it was because his parents were very emotionally and physically abusive to each other, and he remembered as a little boy crying in his room praying for God to make it stop. But God was silent, and that’s the day he stopped believing in God...I empathized with him over that difficult moment in his life, because it’s certainly hard to understand why God was silent in a situation like that...But I kept meeting with the guy, he’s now an agnostic who believes there’s a high probability Jesus is God, and he even occasionally listens to our sermons on our podcast. He’s taken steps toward Jesus, but he’s still having to work through his hardships, because God’s silence is hard for him to understand. God’s silence is hard for anyone to understand! It’s hard to understand why God is sometimes silent, especially when we’re desperately praying for his help. Today’s Psalm can help us with this, because it’s about what to do when God’s silent? So let’s turn to Psalm 6 and get into. You’ll find Psalms in the middle of the bible, and we’ll be in Psalm 6:1-10. Title of the message is What to do when God is silent? The big idea is sometimes God feels silent, but God is never absent...Sometimes God feels silent, but God is never absent...
Here’s your context. The book of Psalms is an Old Testament biblical hymnbook. The word Psalms means songs, which is why this is a series about giving us melodies of encouragement for everyday life. It’s because they’re various songs and prayers filled with theological truths to encourage us. They’re written by various Old Testament historical leaders expressing their real, raw, honest emotions we can all relate with. A few weeks ago we studied Psalm 3 which is a morning prayer prepping our hearts for any issues we’ll face in the day. Last week we studied Psalm 4 which is an evening prayer prepping our hearts to sleep peacefully despite whatever issues remain from the day. Psalm 5 is another morning prayer, and Psalm 6 is another evening prayer. It’s another evening prayer that focuses on what to do, when God’s silent. Let’s check it out.
Psalm 6:1-10 states, “Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; do not discipline me in your wrath.” King David’s the author of this Psalm, and he’s writing this during a time when he’s wrestling with God’s silence. He’s wrestling with God’s discipline. When we experience God’s silence, we can sometimes think we did something wrong and it’s God’s way of disciplining us. It’s true God disciplines us when we sin, but that doesn’t mean God’s discipline is always related to sins we’ve done. Sometimes it’s related to sins others have done against us, and God’s turning what they did into something that’ll grow us and be good for us. We see this in the life of Joseph when he tells his enemies in Genesis 50,“You planned evil against me; but God planned it for good, to bring the present result, which is the survival of many people.” So sometimes God’s discipline is related to our sins, but sometimes it’s related to other people’s sins. As for Psalm 6, some scholars say David’s struggling over sins he’s done, but others say he’s struggling over sins people have done against him, especially since he doesn’t mention any confession of sin in the text. Regardless the point is he’s wrestling with God’s silence. He’s wrestling with God’s discipline.
Now when it comes to God’s discipline, there are two kinds of discipline we receive from God. The 1st is what I call corrective discipline, which is where God disciplines us when we sin like a parent disciplines their child when they sin. When God uses corrective discipline it’s his way of waking us up to our sins, waking us up to things we’re doing that aren’t good for us. If a child runs into the street after their parent tells them not to, it’s a good thing for their parent to correct them before the child gets hit by a car. When we run into streets the Lord tells us not to, it’s a good thing for the Lord to use corrective discipline on us before our lives turn into a greater disaster later...The 2nd kind of discipline is what I call conditioning discipline, which is where God’s conditioning us for greater faith endurance like an athlete getting conditioning for greater athletic endurance. A boxer can’t make it through a 12 round fight without conditioning. If you ever sparred or hit pads without conditioning, you know it only takes a few rounds before your lungs feel like they’re about to burst, and your arms get so tired you can barely pick them up. Conditioning is critical for prepping any athlete to endure future competitions, and God sometimes uses conditioning discipline for prepping us to endure future hardships. But those who walk away from the Lord in their hardships, those who quit their conditioning training, will have a much harder time making it through those future hardships compared to those who stick it out. God’s being a good loving parent when he uses corrective discipline when we sin, and when he uses conditioning discipline to strengthen our faith to withstand future hardships. Hebrews 12 states, “Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith... 6 the Lord disciplines those he loves.” He disciplines us, because he loves us. David’s wrestling with God’s silence and discipline.
Again vs. 1, “Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; do not discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me Lord, for I am weak;, heal me Lord, for my bones are shaking; 3 my whole being is shaken with terror. And you Lord, how long?” David’s wrestling with God’s silence as he’s facing hardship. So he cries out, “How long Lord?...How long will your silence last? How long will this hardship last? How long Lord?” Historically we know David was a great warrior who faced many hardships in his lifetime, and his life was often at risk. As a teenager he had to protect his father’s livestock against lions and bears. As an adult he had to run from King Saul who was paranoid and kept trying to kill him. He had to fight the best soldiers from other nations in 1v1 battles to the death like he did with Goliath. His life was even at risk when his own son Absalom tried killing him. David wasn’t a stranger to hardships, to life threatening situations, and it appears he’s in another one of those situations now, because he says he’s shaken with terror.
But he’s still praying and pleading to the Lord in his terror! He’s praying for the Lord to break the silence and rescue him, because he doesn’t think he’ll survive another night. So he’s praying how long Lord, which are the same words John Calvin prayed repeatedly throughout his lifetime. One of John Calvin’s mottos was usquequo domine, which means how long Lord? So even some of the greatest leaders in Christian history wrestled with God’s silence. It’s people like John Calvin, Martin Luther, Mother Teresa, Charles Spurgeon, and the list goes on. C. S. Lewis mentions a time when he wrestled with God’s silence, shortly after his wife died. C.S. Lewis said, “Go to God when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face and the sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence...There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once, and that seeming was as strong as this...Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity, and so very absent in our time of trouble?” If you ever felt like this in the past or even if you’re feeling like this now, you’re not alone...Even the greatest leaders in Christian history sometimes wrestled with God’s silence in hardship.
Again vs. 3, “My whole being is shaken with terror. And you Lord, how long? 4 Turn Lord! Rescue me; save me because of your faithful love. 5 For there is no remembrance of you in death; who can thank you in Sheol?” In vs 4 he says “Turn Lord,” and a better translation of the original Hebrew is “Return Lord” or “Turn Back Lord!” The implication is that God’s silence is causing him to think the Lord’s turned away from him. He’s thinking the Lord’s abandoned him. So he’s praying for the Lord to turn back, to rescue and save him, out of a faithful love for him. He knows if the Lord doesn’t break the silence, if the Lord doesn’t turn back to rescue and save him, then he’ll die and end up in Sheol. The word Sheol can mean different things depending on the context. It can mean death, the grave, hell, a place of silence without any life, and without any more evil or good being done. In this context it means the grave. So what David’s saying is if the Lord doesn’t turn to rescue and save him, he’ll end up dead in the grave where he can’t praise the Lord anymore in front of the living. If the Lord’s silence remains, David’s voice will be silenced in the grave. When he says there’s no remembrance of God in death, he isn’t saying he’ll forgot the Lord when he dies. He’s saying he can’t point others to remember the Lord if he’s dead. One of the greatest responsibilities of an Israelite leader was to keep pointing the Israelites to remember who the Lord is and what he’s done for them. David’s saying he can’t do that if he’s dead. He can’t declare to others that the Lord’s a great rescuer, great savior, who’s faithfully loving, if he’s buried 6 ft underground. You can’t declare any of those things if you’re dead.
Now that really catches my attention, because he’s shifting from being self-centered, to being God-centered. He’s shifting from praying to live for self-centered reasons, to praying to live for God-centered reasons. He’s praying to live so he can keep declaring that God’s a great rescuer, great savior, who faithfully loves those who put their faith in him...What are you more focused on when you pray?...Are your prayers more focused on what you want, or on what God wants?...Are you more focused on wanting your prayers answered for your good, or for declaring God is good?...Are your prayers more self-centered or God-centered?...What kind of prayers do you think the Lord’s more willing to answer, self-centered or God-centered prayers?...Sometimes the Lord’s silent when you pray, because you’re silent on seeking what he wants when you pray. The Lord wants you to want him, not just things you can get from him...The Lord wants you to want him, not just things you can get from him...It’s hypocritical to expect God to listen to what we want, if we’re ignoring what he wants. It’s hypocritical to get upset over God being silent when we pray, if we’re being silent on seeking God’s will when we pray. It’s okay to express what we want, but we should also seek what God wants. It’s okay to pray our hearts to the Lord, but we should also pray for our hearts to be aligned with the Lord. David’s praying his heart to the Lord, but he’s also praying to live so he can keep declaring to others that God is good.
Vs. 6, “I am weary from my groaning; with my tears I dampen my bed and drench my couch every night. 7 My eyes are swollen from grief; they grow old because of all my enemies.” What we’re learning here from David is that it’s okay to express our unfiltered emotions to the Lord. It’s okay to express our pains and frustrations, our tears and tantrums, but we also need to trust the Lord. Instead of putting a mouthpiece in or putting on a fake happy face acting like everything’s okay...he’s praying...He’s praying his unfiltered emotions to the Lord. But he’s also trusting the Lord with whatever response the Lord gives to his prayers, which we’ll see next.
Vs. 8, “Depart from me, all evildoers, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my plea for help; the Lord accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror; they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced.” Notice David repeatedly says the Lord heard his prayers. Even though the Lord’s been silent in his prayers, he trusts the Lord’s still heard and accepts his prayers. It’s because he knows even when the Lord feels silent, it doesn’t mean the Lord’s absent. Even when the Lord feels silent, the Lord’s still present, still listening, still hearing and accepting our prayers. But that doesn’t mean the Lord will answer our prayers whenever and however we want. David doesn’t say the Lord answers his prayers, he says the Lord accepts his prayers. He’s confident the Lord will answer his prayers to rescue him, but he’s also trusting whatever the Lord’s response is to his prayers. I mean he isn’t even rescued yet! So his confidence isn’t coming from his prayers being answered, it’s coming from him praying and trusting the Lord’s heard his prayers. He’s praying and trusting whatever the Lord’s response is to his prayers. God accepts our prayers, but we also need to accept God’s response to our prayers, including his silent response to our prayers. We need to remember when we pray we aren’t in a peer-to-peer relationship with God, we aren’t co-equals with God, and so he doesn’t have to consult us or even answer us at all. But because he’s a loving God, a loving parent, he invites us to talk to him and always responds in a loving way that’ll be best for us.
So what do we do when God is silent? We keep praying and keep trusting God accepts those prayers. Like David we keep praying our unfiltered emotions to the Lord, and keep trusting the Lord accepts those prayers. You can have just as much confidence as David, that the Lord hears and accepts your prayers through faith in Jesus. If you put your faith in Jesus he not only forgives your sins, he also gives you God’s promises. He doesn’t give you everything you want, but he’ll always give you everything he promises. His answers are always yes and amen to every prayer that’s aligned with his heart, his will, his promises. It’s promises like...
· Philippians 4:19, “My God will supply all your needs in Christ Jesus.”
· 1st Peter 5:10, “The God of all grace…will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you’ve suffered a little while.”
· Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
· Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you, or abandon you.”
· Matthew 28:20, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
· 2nd Corinthians 1:20, “All the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus.”
God’s answers are always yes and amen to every prayer, that’s aligned with Jesus. So the best thing to do is to pray our hearts to Jesus, and to align our hearts with Jesus. It’s to pray for what we want, but to also pray for what Jesus wants, and then trust his response.
The big idea is sometimes God feels silent, but God is never absent...Sometimes God feels silent, but God is never absent...It’s certainly hard and painful when God’s silent, and if we’re honest like David was, then we’d admit we have days when we’re like “How long Lord?... How long do I have to struggle with these issues in my life and family? How long do I have to sit in your silence, praying and waiting for answers, but feeling like you aren’t listening? How long Lord?” We’ve all had days and still have days where we cry out how long Lord. So if you think you’re alone in that prayer, Psalm 6 shows you’re not. If you think nobody cares and nobody’s listening, Psalm 6 shows the Lord cares and is always listening. David shows the Lord cares, the Lord’s always listening, and in Psalm 56:8 he says the Lord puts all our tears in a bottle...He puts all our tears in a bottle, meaning he saves them, never forgets them, and he’ll eventually do something about them. He’ll eventually act on them, whenever and however it's best for us.
Communion is a reminder of the gospel, it’s a reminder that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so we can enjoy an eternal relationship with him. It’s a reminder that we don’t have a temporary relationship with Jesus, we have an eternal relationship with Jesus, which means we can always go to him knowing he’s always willing to forgive our sins and listen to our prayers. If you don’t believe he died for your sins, then please refrain from taking communion so you don’t go through the motions of this. Instead use this time to reflect on the message, and consider asking Jesus to align your heart with his heart, so you can enjoy an eternal relationship with him too...As the elements are being passed let’s take a few minutes to prep our hearts and for those at home to prep their tables. Let’s pray asking Jesus to forgive our sins, thank him for dying for our sins, and ask him to align our hearts with his heart too.
On the night Jesus was betrayed he took some bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it saying “This is my body which is to be broken for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you eat it, do so in remembrance of me, in remembrance of who I am and what I’ve done for you.” When supper ended he took the cup, blessed it, gave thanks for it, and said “This is a symbol of my blood which is to be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you drink it, do so in remembrance of me, in remembrance of who I am and what I’ve done.” City Awakening let’s eat, drink, and worship Jesus. If you want someone to pray for your struggles or your salvation, then go to the back as you feel led, and we’ll have a few leaders back there to pray for you. Let’s worship and pray to Jesus with the confidence, that he’s always listening.