Video summary
The video addresses the profound and often painful experience of feeling God's silence when prayers seem unanswered or circumstances appear dire. The speaker recounts a poignant story from his early ministry days involving a woman named Ernie whose son was critically ill despite her persistent pleas for healing. When she desperately asked, "Where is God?", the young minister responded that God had not left; He remained in exactly the same place where He watched His own Son die on the cross. This narrative sets the stage for exploring why believers often feel a sense of divine absence during their darkest moments and how such silence can actually be an opportunity to deepen one's faith rather than indicating abandonment or neglect.
A central theme discussed is that God frequently uses periods of waiting and perceived silence to strengthen human character, refine patience, and align our desires with His perfect will. The speaker explains that sometimes we cry out for things that are not part of God's plan, requiring a period of surrender before He can grant what truly benefits us. Other times, the answer is simply "wait," as seen in the biblical example of Paul who asked three times to have his thorn removed but was told instead that His strength is made perfect in weakness. These experiences teach humility and dependence on God, illustrating that while we may not receive exactly what we want immediately, everything ultimately works together for good for those who love Him according to His purpose.
Ultimately, the message concludes that God's silence is rarely an absence of communication but rather a different mode of speaking within the deepest recesses of our hearts during difficult times. The story of Ernie serves as proof that trusting through the valley leads to breakthrough and blessing, reinforcing the assurance that God loves us deeply even when His actions are not immediately visible or understood. By holding on tightly in faith during these silent seasons, believers learn valuable lessons about devotion and suffering that they could never acquire if everything went smoothly from a mountaintop perspective, ensuring that their ultimate end is glory for Him and blessing for them.
Read the full video transcript
She said to me, "My son Ernie is very
ill." She said, "I've been asking the
Lord to heal him, but he's not doing
it." David, can you tell me where is
God? I'll never forget that. She said,
"Where is God?"
And I quietly, and I was 23 years old,
but I quietly said, "Where is God?
He's [music] in the same place he was
when he watched his son die on a cross.
He hasn't left you." Have you ever
wondered at what would sometimes appear
to be the silence of God?
You know what I mean? It's
those times that you have
maybe cried out to the Lord asking God
for help or deliverance,
for direction, some insight.
Just asking for help.
And uh and it seems like the heavens are
brass. It seems like your words are
hitting
the brass ceiling and just falling
unheard and unresponded to by God. I've
had that many times. I think that is
typical of believers. I I believe that
that is part of what God uses to
strengthen our faith. He allows us to
get to a certain point in our lives
where we are uh well we're without hope
that we don't know what to do and seems
to make my cries a little more
strong a little more intense more
fervent. That's part of what happens, I
think, in in a believer's life because
the one thing that we really don't seem
to take into consideration very often is
the timing of the Lord.
I think that sometimes what has
happened, at least in my life, and I
think you can see this in scriptural
instances
where the Lord allows you to cry and to
cry and to cry for some time until it's
the right moment, it's the right time.
Sometimes I might be asking for
something that he doesn't want me to
have and it takes a while for me to let
it go.
Sometimes I'm asking for something
that's out of his will. And because it's
out of his will, I'm not going to
receive what I want no matter how hard I
cry and no matter how fervent I pray.
And other times I'm praying and he's
saying, "Oh, I have that in store for
you, but you're going to have to wait
until my timing." And the timing of the
Lord is always perfect. There's never a
time that it's not. He always does
things in his time and he always does
them at the right moment. Everything
works out together for good for those
who love God, to those who are called
according to his purpose. And so
that's why he would say to us, you know,
wait on the Lord, you'll renew your
strength. You know, there are many
things that have happened in my own
personal spiritual life where where I've
been asking the Lord for something and
uh and it's taken quite some time and
you can feel he he doesn't hear this
particular thing.
He's not going to give us this certain
thing and you learn through that. But
there are other things that you might
ask God to do. remove this from me. For
example, like Paul and the thorn he had
in his flesh.
Three times he said, I asked the Lord to
remove this. And three times he said,
no.
He said, my strength is made perfect in
weakness.
That's a lesson I've learned. That's a
lesson I've learned and am learning.
My strength is made perfect in weakness.
this is something you're going to deal
with because it keeps you humble and
dependent on me. Do I want that? No. Do
I want the things that hurt me that
sometimes I see as a thorn? Do I want
them removed? Absolutely.
Have I learned to live with them? Well,
that's what he said. He said, "Then he
said, I'm going to glory in this thorn."
He says, "Because when I'm weak, then
I'm strong." So, I believe that there
are times that we may be crying out to
the Lord and asking God to move. There
are times that we feel that he's not
hearing us when in fact he does hear us
and he may be saying no or he may be
saying yes.
And very often he's saying wait.
All things are going to work together
for the good. You're going to learn
lessons in the valley that you wouldn't
learn on the mountaintop.
You're going to learn what the patience
of the Lord is all about. You're going
to learn what the purity of your
devotion is all about. You're going to
learn what what faith really is. And
you're going to learn to suffer along.
You're going to learn all the things
that you want so desperately, but are
very often unwilling to choose for
ourselves. And it's in the silent
moments that God speaks the loudest.
I had a lady many years ago at a home
Bible study
and uh she came to me and she said to
me, "My son Ernie is very ill." She
said, "I've been asking the Lord to heal
him, but he's not doing it. He's not
healing Ernie." And she said to me,
"David, can you tell me where is God?"
I'll never forget that. She said, "Where
is God?"
And I quietly, and I was 23 years old,
but I quietly said, "Where is God?
He's in the same place he was when he
watched his son die on a cross. He
hasn't left you.
He hasn't moved. He's aware.
And his purposes for you are good.
Just wait and you'll see what God is
going to do."
And of course, her son did get well, and
she did learn that
sometimes the silence of the Lord
is simply the opportunity for us to draw
close in faith and to hold tighter in
the hard time.
One thing you need to know for sure, he
loves you.
And he's working things out for good.
And ultimately, he'll get glory.
and you'll be blessed.
God is not really silent. He speaks, but
sometimes it's in the deepest recesses
of your heart. Sometimes it's in a way
that may take a while for you to hear,
but if you listen closely,
you will hold on.
God bless you.