There is a particular pain in grief that goes beyond the loss itself—it’s the silence that follows. The quiet after the funeral. The echo after the prayer. The unanswered questions. The stillness in your spirit when you’re desperately longing to hear from God but Heaven seems still.
This week, we explore one of the hardest truths in the journey of grief: God is sometimes silent—but He is never absent.
In the silence, He is speaking something deeper than words. He is present in ways we cannot always perceive. And though we may not feel Him, we are never forsaken.
The Agony of Divine Silence
Have you ever cried out and heard nothing in return?
Have you searched the Scriptures and found no clarity?
Have you sat in your prayer closet, heart open, only to feel more alone than when you started?
You are not alone in that experience.
Job cried out in grief and confusion:
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him…” (Job 23:8–9 KJV)
David, the man after God’s own heart, lamented:
“O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.” (Psalm 22:2 KJV)
Even Jesus, in the Garden and on the Cross, experienced that divine stillness:
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 KJV)
Silence Does Not Mean Abandonment
Just because you don’t feel God doesn’t mean He is far.
Just because He’s not answering the way you want doesn’t mean He is not working.
In fact, some of the most transformative moments in the Bible came after long seasons of silence.
Between the Old and New Testaments—400 years passed. No prophets. No fresh Word. Just silence.
And then… Jesus.
Sometimes God’s silence is not His absence. It is His preparation.
He is positioning things. Healing deeply. Teaching trust. Refining faith.
Faith That Listens Differently
Silence can teach you to hear in new ways.
It sharpens your discernment. It deepens your dependence. It quiets the noise of self and amplifies the whisper of His sovereignty.
Grief makes us long for answers, but God gives us presence.
And that presence may not be loud—but it is powerful.
Elijah learned this in 1 Kings 19. After fire, wind, and earthquake—all loud, visible displays—God came in a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12 KJV).
The voice was there. The whisper was enough.
When You Can’t Hear God—Hold What You Know
If your faith feels shaken by the silence, remember this:
God does not change based on your feelings.
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8 KJV).
Even in silence, His Word remains true.
Even in stillness, His promises are active.
Even in sorrow, His heart toward you is constant.
Selah Moment: Faith in the Silence
Pause this week to reflect:
Where is God asking you to trust even when you don’t hear?
What do you know about His character that you can cling to in the quiet?
Have you mistaken silence for abandonment?
Let the silence become sacred.
Let it stretch your spirit rather than shatter it.
Let it teach you how to walk by faith—not by feelings.
Scripture Meditation This Week:
“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1 KJV)
“It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:26 KJV)
“The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” (Lamentations 3:25 KJV)
Prayer for Silent Seasons:
Father, I thank You because I know You hear me. Let Your will be done.
Though You seem silent, I believe You are near.
Though I don’t feel answers, I trust Your presence.
Though I don’t understand, I surrender.
Help me not to run from the silence but to rest in it.
Let this stillness deepen my faith, anchor my soul, and awaken my spirit to Your gentle whisper.
Teach me to hear differently. Teach me to wait without wavering.
I trust that You are working, even when I can’t perceive it.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Closing Reflection:
You don’t have to interpret the silence.
You just have to hold His hand in it.
He is still God. Still good. Still speaking—though not always in words.
Faith is not proven in the shout—it is anchored in the silence.
Selah Moment with Dr. Althea Winifred
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