“In the silence is God.”
Those were the words I heard as I sat trying to quiet my mind.
I was sitting alone in my room at the domestic violence shelter I’d escaped to after another encounter with my ex-husband. I’d left the children with him, and I was terrified.
I knew they were safe. God had already assured me they would be, but I was afraid.
Not for their lives but for what would come next.
I felt lost.
All the work I had put into rebuilding our lives after my divorce had shattered and I was left alone realising I’d only put a plaster on my pain.
The evidence was there in the stillness of the room. There weren’t even any other women in the shelter to talk to. It was me, my shadow, and a noticeably quiet God.
He wasn’t saying anything and that left me with a lot of space to think. He must be displeased with me. I need to figure this out. I waited too long. I must have done something wrong. I can’t do this if God isn’t with me. How will I know this will be okay and I can get the children back?
I tried to write a journal and that was all that ended up on the paper.
“In the silence is God.”
In that moment, I knew. He was there. He was silent but He was there.
God’s silence is not a sign of His absence but His presence.
It’s hard to hear Him because we are so loud. Our racing thoughts are turned up to LOUD and in a world where we struggle to put our phones down for more than five minutes, it isn’t easy to be still long enough to feel or hear Him.
When Elijah the Prophet (1 King 19: 11 – 12) was terrified and running for his life, the word says that the Lord passed by “and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
I have found that the times I need God to show up and be the Big, Strong and Mighty One who can leap tall buildings in a simple bound, He does the opposite.
But His silence is not a sign of His diminished power, love, or care for you.
In fact, I dare anyone to come and disturb His careful watch over you.
My sister, rest.
He loves you and your protection and peace are His number one priority.
Have a restful week.
Live Fearless