The Silence of God

Finding Faith in Seasons of Doubt

Have you ever prayed and felt like your words were echoing in an empty room?

Maybe you were facing a crisis—a job loss, a broken relationship, or lingering grief—and you cried out to God, only to hear…nothing. The silence of God can be disorienting, even painful. It’s as if the One who promises to be near has stepped out of reach.

I have walked through these seasons of doubt and confusion, wrestling with questions like, “Is God listening?” or “Have I done something wrong?” If you are wrestling with questions like these, know that you are not alone.

Not only have I, and many others, have had similar experiences, the Bible has many stories of faithful people who face God’s silence and discovered that doubt, far from being the enemy of faith, can be a doorway to a deeper trust.

When God Seems Absent

The Bible doesn’t say away from the reality of God’s silence. Take Job, a man who lost everything—his wealth, his children, his health. In Job 23:8-10, Job laments:

If I go east, he is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive him. When he is at work to the north, I cannot see him; when he turns south, I cannot find him. Yet he knows the way I have taken; when he has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. (CSB)

Job looks for God in every direction, but God is not to be found. He seems to be absent. Yet, in his frustration, Job holds on to a truth: God sees him, and this trial will refine his faith like gold in a fire.

Likewise, King David, faced seasons of divine silence. In Psalm 13, David cries out, “How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (v.1; CSB). David’s honest words are jarring. He doesn’t pretend to have it all together; rather, he pours his doubt and despair out before God. It is crucial to note that by the end of the psalm there is a shift: 

But I have trusted in your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.

I will sing to the LORD because he has treated me generously. — Psalms 13:5-6 (CSB)

David’s journey through doubt leads him back to trust, not because his circumstances change, but because he remembers God’s character.

These examples remind us that doubt is a normal part of faith. As I have reflected on discipleship, I have realized that assuming we will always feel God’s presence can actually hurt our spiritual formation. True faith often grows in the dark, when we learn to trust God, not for what we hope for, but based on His character.

The Purpose of Silence

Why does God sometimes seem silent?

C. S. Lewis, in his reflections on pain and suffering, entitled The Problem of Pain, offers this helpful insight:

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

But what about when pain itself feels like silence? Lewis suggests that God’s silence can be a sort of a test. Not a cruel test, but a refining test. A test that invites us to trust God’s character when we can’t hear His voice and witness His guidance. In moments of silence, we are forced to wrestle with questions like: Do I believe God is good, even when I can’t see Him? Will I trust His love, even when I don’t feel it?

This testing isn’t about earning God’s favor, it’s about strengthening our reliance on Him. Like Job, we learn that God knows our way, even when we don’t see Him. Like David, we discover that His love continues, even when our feelings are weak. God’s silence isn’t abandonment—it’s an invitation to a faith that is rooted in His unchanging nature, not our momentary emotions.

Navigating the Silence

So, how do we walk through seasons of God’s silence without losing hope? Here are a few practices that can help:

1. Pray a Lament: Follow David’s example of Psalm 13. Write or speak a prayer that acknowledges your doubts, fears, and frustrations. Be honest with God—He can handle it. Then, following David’s example, end with a statement of trust, even if it feels small. Lamenting isn’t complaining; it’s bringing your whole self to God.
2. Seek Community: Doubt can feel isolating, but you don’t have to face it alone. Share your struggles with a friend, pastor, or small group. The purpose of the Church is meant to bear one another’s burdens. A listening ear can remind you of God’s presence when you can’t sense it yourself.
3. Journal Your Journey: Writing can be a useful way to process doubt. I believe that by putting your thoughts on paper helps you see patterns, pray through questions, and remember God’s faithfulness. Try writing a letter to God about your doubts, then reread it later to reflect on how He has been at work.
4. Rest in God’s Promises: When God feels silent, anchor yourself in scripture. Passages like Isaiah 41:10 or Hebrews 13:5 remind us of God’s presence, even when we can’t feel it.

A Step Toward Vulnerability

God’s silence doesn’t mean His absence. It’s often in these seasons that our faith is stretched, refined, and matured. Like Job, we can’t trust that God sees our path. Like David, we can choose to rest in His stead fast love. And like countless believers before us, we can find that doubt, when faced honestly, leads to a stronger, more resilient faith.

Here is my challenge to you: Take a small step toward vulnerability. Write a short lament as a prayer, pouring your doubts to God and ending  with a statement of trust. Or, share your questions with a trusted friend and ask them to pray for you. These acts of courage don’t erase the feelings of God’s silence and absence, but they open the door for God to meet you in it. 

What is one way you have experienced God’s silence, and how did it shape your faith? I would love to hear your thoughts. Let’s walk this journey of faith together, trusting that even in the quiet, God is near.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Trusting God More Than Ourselves

“True surrender to God requires letting go of our own will and embracing His, trusting that His plan is better than ours. We need to trust Him more than we trust ourselves.”

Surrender is not a word we usually like. It feels like weakness, failure, or defeat. From childhood, we are taught to be strong, to stand our ground, and to fight for what we want. But the way of Jesus turns the world’s wisdom upside down. In God’s kingdom, surrender is not defeat—it’s freedom.

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He faced the most difficult test of surrender anyone could imagine. He knew the cross was before Him, and He wrestled with the cost: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will”(Matthew 26:39). In that moment, Jesus modeled what true surrender looks like—laying down His own will in order to fully embrace the Father’s.

That’s the challenge we all face. We might not be staring at a cross, but we all carry desires, plans, and preferences that we cling to tightly. We tell ourselves we trust God, but when His direction cuts across our own, do we resist or release?

Why Letting Go Feels So Hard

The truth is, we tend to trust ourselves more than God. We think we know what’s best for our future, our families, our careers, our finances. We lean on our understanding because it feels safer and more familiar. Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us otherwise: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Letting go is hard because it requires faith. It requires admitting that our perspective is limited and that God sees what we cannot. Faith asks us to believe that His plan is not only bigger than ours but also better.

What Happens When We Trust Him More

When we surrender, we discover the peace that comes from knowing we are not in control. The burden of carrying the future lifts because it is safe in God’s hands. This doesn’t mean life will be easy. Jesus’ surrender led Him to the cross. But it also led to resurrection, victory, and eternal hope.

The same is true for us. God’s plan may lead us through valleys, but He will always lead us toward life. Surrender doesn’t guarantee comfort—it guarantees His presence and His purpose. And in the end, that is far greater than anything we could arrange on our own.

Living Out Surrender Daily

Surrender is not just a one-time decision; it’s a daily posture. Here are three ways we can practice trusting God more than ourselves:

1. Pray honestly. Bring your desires, fears, and plans before God. Then echo Jesus’ words: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
2. Obey quickly. When you sense God leading you through His Word or His Spirit, don’t delay. Obedience is where trust becomes real.
3. Release outcomes. We can do what God asks of us, but the results belong to Him. True surrender means letting Him define success.

The Invitation

Surrender is not about giving up on life; it’s about giving our lives to the One who gave His life for us. It’s about trading the illusion of control for the reality of God’s care.

The question we each need to ask is this: Do I trust God more than I trust myself?

When we can answer “yes,” not just with our lips but with our lives, we step into the freedom and peace that only surrender can bring.

Being Religious

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.” It sounds good, and there’s truth in it—but I’m not convinced it tells the whole story.

If we define religion simply as rituals, traditions, and practices that help us relate to God, then yes—I am a religious person. And I believe every follower of Jesus is, too.

The reality is this: we cannot relate to God in the same way we relate to friends and family. We don’t see Him physically. We don’t sit across the table from Him. Religion—our practices, rhythms, and habits—is one of the primary ways we express our love for God and stay connected to Him.

In Scripture, especially in Exodus and Leviticus, God gave Israel very specific instructions for worship. Sacrifices, festivals, priestly duties—all of it was intentional. God provided concrete practices that helped His people approach Him and reflect His holiness.

At the same time, many religious practices developed through tradition. They aren’t commanded in Scripture, but they help shape our worship and community. Celebrating Christmas, meeting in church buildings, singing certain songs—these traditions can enrich our relationship with God when they point us to Jesus.

As followers of Christ, we recognize that many of the laws given to Israel were specific to their covenant relationship with God. We don’t offer animal sacrifices anymore because Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Instead, we remember His death through the Lord’s Supper. We no longer keep the Sabbath as Israel did, yet we gather weekly for worship, rest, and renewal.

Traditions and rituals still matter because they help us remember, express, and practice our faith.

But there’s another essential purpose for religion: to help us change.

Christianity isn’t just about relating to God—it’s about becoming the person God created us to be. The danger comes when we confuse performing religious actions with spiritual transformation.

James makes this point very clearly:

“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

— James 1:26–27 (NLT)

James spends much of his opening chapter reminding us that trials, God’s wisdom, and God’s Word are all tools God uses to shape our lives. But rituals alone—going through the motions—don’t produce transformation. If our practices don’t lead us to self-control, compassion, and purity, then something is missing.

Our religion becomes worthless when it is disconnected from faith.

Faith is what gives meaning to our worship, traditions, and spiritual disciplines. Without faith:

• religion becomes empty routine
• trials feel pointless and destructive
• Scripture becomes nice advice rather than life-giving truth

Faith—our allegiance to King Jesus—is what opens our hearts to God’s transforming work. God cannot change us if we will not trust Him. We can participate in every religious activity available and still remain unchanged.

So in the end, the question isn’t, “Am I religious?”

The better question is: “Am I faithful?”

Who am I trusting?

Who am I committed to?

Who has my heart?

If the answer isn’t Jesus—and if we aren’t willing to trust Him with our lives—then our religion might be little more than hollow ritual.

But when faith and practice come together, religion becomes something beautiful. It becomes a rhythm of grace—a way of living that shapes us into the likeness of Christ.

Point to Ponder:

Religion without faith cannot transform us. Faith expressed through obedience and love is what makes our worship meaningful.

Question to Consider:

How is your faith shaping the way you practice your relationship with God this week?

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Living in Light, Love, and Truth: Living with Eternal Life

1 John 5:13–21

If you pull out a dollar bill, you’ll see four familiar words printed on the back: “In God We Trust.” It’s our national motto. We print it on our money. We claim it as part of our identity.

But according to the latest General Social Survey, those four words no longer describe the way most Americans actually live. When people were asked how confident they were that God really exists, only 50%—just half—said they believe in God without any doubts. Thirty years ago that number was 65%, and it’s been sliding ever since. Among young adults the shift is even more dramatic: only 36% now say they are certain God exists.

So we live in a country where our currency declares trust in God, but our culture increasingly doesn’t know whether God is even there. Doubt is growing. Fear is growing. Confusion is growing.

Which raises a deeper question: Where does real confidence come from?

According to the apostle John, confidence doesn’t come from slogans or cultural heritage. It certainly doesn’t come from our feelings. Confidence comes from a Person—Jesus—and what He has already done for us. In his final words of 1 John, John reminds the church what they can know with certainty. And these same truths anchor us today.

We Can Be Confident That We Have Eternal Life

(1 John 5:13–15)

John tells us exactly why he wrote this letter: “so that you may know that you have eternal life.” We don’t have to guess. We don’t have to wonder. We don’t have to live in spiritual uncertainty.

How can we know? John points to two essential realities:

1. Our faith in King Jesus, the unique Son of God.
2. Our love for God and for one another.

Faith and love aren’t abstract ideas—they’re evidence of new life. And because we belong to God, we also have confidence in prayer. When our allegiance is aligned with Jesus, our desires begin to reflect God’s desires. We pray according to His will, and John assures us: God hears us. As a Father, He gives what we need, even if it looks different than what we asked for.

Eternal life isn’t a future prize; it’s a present reality. And it brings confidence.

We Can Be Confident That Sin Is Evil—and That God Rescues Us From It

(1 John 5:16–19)

John turns next to one of the more challenging passages in his letter—praying for those caught in sin.

There are sins that lead to repentance, where guilt and sorrow eventually draw someone back to God. These we should pray for boldly. But John also acknowledges a deeper, more hardened rebellion—willful rejection of God, the kind embraced by the false teachers troubling the early church. Their hearts were closed to the Spirit. Prayer for them may not change their course.

Why is this important? Because confidence in God awakens seriousness about sin. Followers of Jesus don’t make sin a lifestyle. We confess our sins. We seek forgiveness. We fight against temptation because God’s love has taken hold of us.

John contrasts two spiritual realities:

1. We are God’s children, shaped by His love, Spirit, and Word.
2. The world lies under the influence of the evil one, shaped by the spirit of anti-Christ.

So we remain alert. Confident—but not careless.

We Can Be Confident About Jesus—The True God and Eternal Life

(1 John 5:20–21)

John closes with clarity: Jesus has given us the fullest revelation of God. The Old Testament gave glimpses of God through the law, but Jesus shows us God’s heart through love. And because of Him, we can have a genuine relationship with God—walking in love, faith, and loyalty to King Jesus.

This fuller knowledge of God leads to one final command:

“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Idols aren’t just statues. They’re false ideas of God. Distorted pictures of Jesus. Voices that seduce our loyalty away from the King—just as the temples and false teachers tried to sway the early church.

Confidence in Jesus means refusing all competing allegiances.

Living With Eternal Life Today

John ends his letter like a loving spiritual father—reminding us what is true, what can be trusted, and how we should live. Our world may be confused about God, but we don’t need to be.

Following King Jesus gives us the confidence we need to live faithfully in this world.

And this kind of life—rooted in clarity, loyalty, and trust—is exactly what our world needs to see.

A Simple Challenge for This Week

Choose one concrete step of confidence:

• Pray boldly for someone who is struggling. 
• Confess a sin you’ve been tolerating.
• Silence a voice that is pulling you from the truth. 
• Open your Bible each morning and ask God to deepen your trust.

Live like someone who truly has eternal life—not someday, but now.

Final Thought

If you are in Christ, you are not meant to drift through life uncertain, anxious, or spiritually unstable. You are meant to stand firm, pray boldly, resist sin faithfully, love sincerely, and worship wholeheartedly. Reject every idol that competes for your allegiance.

Remain with Jesus. Trust Him. Follow Him.

And you will shine with a confidence this world has forgotten—but desperately needs to see.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.