PORTERVILLE POST | The "RIGHT" Word © ~ with Brother Scott

| “When GOD is Silent”
The Right Word^© - Aug 10, 2025
with Brother Scott : scott@portervillepost.com

I know that you have experienced this, as have I: There have been and there will be again times in the life of a Christian where God is silent. Today we will look at this occurrence to better understand both why it happens and how we are to respond to it when it does.
And when it seems He is silent—consider the † Psalms.
Listen :
We are vulnerable when God is silent during the micro-seasons of our lives—vulnerable if we are carnal and immature, weak in faith, deficient in the knowledge of His Word, not patient with God, or simply have not learned enough about how God works in the lives of His children.

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† Psalm 71:1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. 2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. 3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5 For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. 6 By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. 7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. 8 Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day. 9 Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. 10 For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, 11 Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him. 12 O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. 13 Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt. 14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. 15 My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. 16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. 17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed (Heb. front: stand boldly in opposite to, manifested, announced, exposed, explained) thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

We must know and not forget that the Lord is aware of our vulnerabilities and that He keeps that in mind when difficulties that He has permitted or arranged arise to touch us; we must not forget that and not have a knee-jerk reaction that casts reproach at Him or our mind considers doubts about His love for us in our trouble and during what seems to be His silence.
This is an important state of the mind and heart of a believer to stay in touch with when we do not feel His nearness and find his soon help in times of need. We cannot forget that He has you and me always on His mind, His Spirit and our Savior both intercede for us, and that God never leaves us even for a nanosecond.

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† Psalm 121:2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

† Psalm 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. . . 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. [This “leading” is often the reason behind that which God permits upon our lives as a refining fire.]

† Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. . . 13:5 Let your conversation (behavior [lifestyle]) be without covetousness [the 10th Commandment]; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

† Genesis 15: [After Abraham’s battle against the kings he refused any reward involving riches for himself:] 1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

† Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession (confers with God, entreats for us) for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. . . 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

When God is silent (or so it seems) even in His silence He is actually saying something. What does it mean to a man or woman when silence comes? It can mean that ...

𝕀t Can Mean That ...

• He is not silent but it is that we are not tuned to His whisper
• I may have moved far enough away from Him that I cannot hear Him
• He has spoken a word to us but we are in disobedience to it; by not speaking He is saying “Nothing more can be done until you obey what I’ve said” (remember Jonah!).
• As our Father, and His Spirit as our teacher, God is quiet while we are being tested on what we have learned or claim that we believe
• Any silence is intended to draw us closer to Him in prayer and the reading of His Word, if we will
• Perhaps He is silent as an indication that we must be silent before Him for a time—listening, watching, meditating, and examining ourselves

We can know by the promises of His Word that He will not leave us to ourselves except it be for our serious sin and forsaken faith in Him—a very extreme and grave condition, which blocks God.
If it is true that He will never leave nor forsake us, then His seeming silence has a good reason and we must seek the Lord for it to be resolved. To seek the Lord means we do not complain about Him, we do not go off half-cocked and handle things by our old ways, we do not lose faith in Him and His Word, and we persevere through the circumstances reminding ourselves that God is watching but for some reason seems to be standing back.

( † † † )

† Psalm 4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. . . 3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

† Psalm 27:13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait (to bind and expect) on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

† Psalm 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears [the opposite of faith].

When it seems that God is silent, He does not answer or He does not act, in my experience it is only one of two possibilities: Either He is answering and I am not listening or He is not speaking and I must be patient with Him and open to Him when He does speak.
How can we test the two and try to understand which it might be? It requires that we quiet our hearts in intentional times in His Presence to listen (and if the situation is serious enough, listen with fasting), for me it can involve “talking it out” before Him, and it always involves spending time in His Word—not looking for answers that fit what you or I want but reading His Word with an open mind and heart.
When might we seek God’s guidance or wisdom or provision or blessing that are times that we can experience a delay in His help?

𝕊ome Examples Below ...

• An opportunity becomes known or a door open and we seek His direction
• We face a roadblock that cannot be moved without His help
• Sickness or disease arises
• We become uneasy but don’t know why
• Something serious happens and we pray asking God to fix it
• Someone comes against us and we ask that he or she be taken out of the way

Now for some things that we will face that you and I must be prepared to go to God about, seek His face, and might have to endure a time of silence involving quiet humility before Him are such as these:

𝕊uch As These ...

• Wisdom about what to do next
• Impending danger
• In our innocence or because of our faith we face persecution or arrest
• Everyday needs when they are beyond our reach (no food, water, money, safe passage, etc.)

In these last days and most of our tomorrows we will be living at the edges of physical need, some life-altering decisions that need to be made, the unlawful requirements of an antichrist world, and many other dangers—like these:

𝕄any Dangers - Like These ...

• Do we submit to med’s or physical surgery or put our condition in His hands
• What about taking actions that are risky—is there peace or not
• When do we rely on and wait for the supernatural versus take the natural course
• When a miracle is needed (walk on water, raise the dead, etc.), how can we know if we should ask for it or not
• Do we physically take up arms and prepare to shoot or do we stand down and call on the Lord for hornets or the ground to open up or even lay down our life for another
• Do I submit to certain laws of men (“give up your Bible, surrender your firearms, give us your food,” etc.) or take a stand against them

One more aspect of letting God be God is realizing that He is not bound to act like He did in the past or that He is necessarily predictable—meaning that He always does things the same way.
At † Exodus 17, Moses was commanded to strike the rock for water the first time but later at † Numbers 20 he was commanded to “speak” to the rock the second time.
At † Joshua 9, they presumed to know all the facts and granted the Gibeonites a peace-treaty without the counsel of God and were taken-in by deception.
At † 2 Samuel 7, David is discussing his desire to build God a temple and Nathan says “Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee” only to be rebuked by God with an opposite word.
We cannot presume to know exactly what God’s mind is or that because God did something one way that that is the same way He will do it again.

( † † † )

† Psalm 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins (arrogance, pride); let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

† Isaiah 55: [When God seems silent:] 6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

† 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you [a test when God is silent], as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

† Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us [on that Day!].

† 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape (exit; [come out the other side of the trial]), that ye may be able to bear it (literally bear from underneath, undergo the hardship).

There are and will be times where we will feel like God is absent in His counsel and help but He is not. It is part of our old nature that when things are okay in our day-to-day lives that we have no fellowship with Him and little awareness of His Presence as we proceed to be in charge of daily things ourselves.
But when hardships or serious lack or dangers arise it is then that we think in God’s direction and want His undivided attention and right now! This is a clear indication that we are not walking daily in a relationship with Him, which usually is why He seems to be silent.

The best that I can offer you on this subject is this:

1- Read God’s Word daily and become aware of and convinced of His promises to His beloved and His power to redeem you,
2- talk to Him each day and off-and-on throughout your day (this is called fellowship),
3- practice it and let it become routine in your day to tell Him of your love, and
4- express your gratitude for His mercy and grace.

If these things become real and legitimate in your life, when the times come that God is quiet, you will know that it is not because you are a stranger to Him or He is busy somewhere else or because you cannot hear the whispers of His soft voice—but that it is a time of testing or a beckoning to quiet yourself and seek His face. Do it, quiet yourself, and you have these things!

( † † † )

† Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

† Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

† 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work...

𝔸men!