Title: God's Silence is also an Answer
<God's silence is a test>
Looking at the Gospels, there are many scenes in which Jesus responds in silence when he clings to a problem urgently. Why is the Lord silent on the urgent cries of the saints, and why does he delay without solving the problem right away? It is sometimes questioned, but it is clear that in every scene of Jesus' silence and delay in the Gospels, there was never a failure or a mistake. In fact, the silence of the Lord is a test, not a sign of misery or curse.
One day, when Jesus performed an amazing miracle, the people tried to seize him and make him king (verse 15). Then Jesus went to the mountain to pray, and the disciples got into a boat and went to the other side of Capernaum. That night, a great storm struck the Sea of Galilee. No matter how much they rowed, it was in vain, and when hope almost disappeared, the disciples must have sought the Lord with a desperate heart. “Why is Jesus not coming? Why are you so late?”
In verse 19 of the text, it is recorded that Jesus came when the disciples had gone about a dozen miles, but in Matthew 14:25, Jesus came to the disciples on foot on the sea around 4 in the night. The 4th view means that they were rowing for 9 to 10 hours because they boarded the boat at sunset (John 6:16-17), and even if they rowed for such a long time, they could only go about 4 kilometers. The storm was so severe it couldn't be.
Still, Jesus did not come to the disciples until just before dawn. In addition, in Mark 6:45-48, Jesus was watching the disciples rowing in agony on the mountain he had gone up to pray. But why didn't the Lord come to the disciples right away? We do not know the exact reason, but as a result, none of the disciples had a single hair bruised, and there was an amazing response to experience the Lord walking on the water.
After the silence of the Lord, there are greater answers and greater experiences. There will be times when God is silent on our urgent prayer topics. Still, pray hard, sweat hard, and don't retreat from your place of devotion. Even if God seems to be silent, he never goes down the path of loss. God's silence and delay are not rejections and curses.
< Silence is not refusal >
In John 11, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed there for two more days. Eventually, Lazarus dies. Lazarus was one of the three children of Bethany whom Jesus loved the most. Why did Jesus delay? The reason is unknown, but the important thing is that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. After the silence of the Lord, a greater experience awaits. So, no matter how difficult or difficult it may be, don't worry.
There is always a gracious purpose in delaying God's holy guidance and delaying God's answers and blessings. God's silence and delay is not a curse, not a misfortune. What is clear is that God's response is delayed in order to bring greater and better answers than we asked for. After all, God's silence is also an answer.
The parent-child relationship is the same. Sometimes children say, “Buy me some gum! Buy me some candy!” They say, begging them to buy something that is not nutritious. At that time, if they think it is not good for their parents, they will not give it to them. Then later give them a better gift, and then you will see happy smiles on their faces.
As such, in the prayers of the saints, in the sight of God, it is as if “God! Gum please! Candy please! It's like saying, "Wow!". Then God is silent. Then he continues to weep because he is sad about God's silence, but it is not because God hates him that he is so silent. God allowed a moment of silence because he wanted to give something better and more nutritious. People want chewing gum and sweets that are not nutritious, but God responds in silence for a while to give you something better in consideration of comprehensive nutrition. In the silence of God is the great voice of God.