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When God Feels Silent: Trusting Him in the Waiting · The Counseling Room

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  Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Dr. Darlene Turner, and welcome to the eighth
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  Speaker 1: episode of the eighth season of The Counseling Room, where
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  Speaker 1: I can bring the safe space to you. So in
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  Speaker 1: today's episode, we will be discussing when God feels silent. Now,
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  Speaker 1: according to Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31, it says, but
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  Speaker 1: they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
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  Speaker 1: Have you ever prayed about something and you felt like
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  Speaker 1: God wasn't answering? You prayed, you waited. You ask God
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  Speaker 1: for direction and steal nothing. Sometimes one of the hardest
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  Speaker 1: parts of faith isn't believing God can do something. It's
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  Speaker 1: trusting Him when He hasn't done it yet. Welcome to
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  Speaker 1: The Counseling Room. I'm Dr. Darlene Turner. Today we're talking
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  Speaker 1: about when God is silent. Because there are seasons in
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  Speaker 1: life when God can feel silent, and when that happens,
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  Speaker 1: our minds can start feeling in the silence. Maybe God
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  Speaker 1: doesn't hear me. Maybe I've done something wrong. Maybe God
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  Speaker 1: has forgotten about me. Maybe my situation isn't going to change.
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  Speaker 1: But I want to remind you of something today. God's
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  Speaker 1: silence does not mean God's absence. Just because you don't
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  Speaker 1: hear from God doesn't mean he isn't working. Think about
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  Speaker 1: a seed planted in the ground. For a while, you
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  Speaker 1: don't see anything happening. But underneath the surface, something is
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  Speaker 1: taking place. Roots are growing. Something is developing. And eventually,
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  Speaker 1: what was happening beneath the surface becomes visible. Sometimes God
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  Speaker 1: is doing something in you before he does something around you.
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  Speaker 1: And that's difficult for us because we want answers. We
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  Speaker 1: want timelines. We want details. We want to know what's
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  Speaker 1: going to happen next. But faith often requires us to
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  Speaker 1: trust God. without having all the information. Isaiah says, they
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  Speaker 1: that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Notice
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  Speaker 1: that it doesn't say those who wait will become weaker.
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  Speaker 1: It says they will renew their strength. Waiting can actually
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  Speaker 1: become a place where God strengthens you. Now, from a
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  Speaker 1: counseling perspective, uncertainty can create anxiety. When we don't know
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  Speaker 1: what is going to happen, our minds often try to
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  Speaker 1: create an answer. And unfortunately, our minds don't always create
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  Speaker 1: the best answer. We imagine the worst. We rehearse what
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  Speaker 1: could go wrong. We become overwhelmed by things that hasn't
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  Speaker 1: even happened. But here's where faith meets emotional health. You
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  Speaker 1: don't have to solve tomorrow today. You can give God
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  Speaker 1: today's concerns and trust him with tomorrow. Maybe you're waiting
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  Speaker 1: for an answer. Maybe you're waiting for healing. Maybe you're
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  Speaker 1: waiting for direction. Whatever you're waiting for, don't assume that
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  Speaker 1: God's silence means he's forgotten you. Sometimes God is asking
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  Speaker 1: you to trust his character when you cannot see his plan.
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  Speaker 1: Let's pray. Father, thank you for reminding us that your
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  Speaker 1: silence does not mean your absence. Help us to trust
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  Speaker 1: you when we don't understand what you're doing. Quiet all
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  Speaker 1: anxious thoughts and teach us to wait with faith instead
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  Speaker 1: of fear. Give us strength. while we wait, and help
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  Speaker 1: us to remember that you are always working, even when
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  Speaker 1: we cannot see it. In Jesus's name, amen. And remember,
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  Speaker 1: just because you can't see what God is doing doesn't
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  Speaker 1: mean God isn't doing something. Keep trusting, keep praying, keep believing.
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  Speaker 1: God is still there in the silence. This is Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Darlene Turner, and I'll see you next time in the
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  Speaker 1: counseling room.