Mistaken for Silence: Not Now
But "No" is not the only response from God that can be mistaken for silence. Sometimes when he seems silent he is saying, "Not now." When we ask God for something, we are looking for it at once. We have a predetermined timetable. If God were to say, "Not now — the timing is neither right nor best," it would be natural to interpret his answer as silence.
What adds to the difficulty of "Not now" is that we are so used to instant gratification. We can't imagine a life without express lanes, ATMs, faxes, e-mail and instant messaging. We're used to getting what we want when we want it, which makes "Later" or "Not now" only slightly easier to hear than "No."
But God's delay should not be confused with his denial, much less his silence. He always has reasons for saying "Not now," and we should greet such delays with trust and patience. The willingness to wait in prayer and let God's timetable unfold is behind the Message translation of Romans 8:22-25: "Waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting."
Besides, we may not be ready for what God would say. The delay may have less to do with the timing of events than the timing of our soul's growth. Dallas Willard writes that we may have so little clarity on what a word from God should be like, and so little competence in dealing with it, that such a word would only add to our confusion, even "when it would otherwise be entirely appropriate and helpful."3
As I write these words, I am waiting for God's guidance on a host of issues that will determine my steps for the next season of my life. My petition is clear and direct, but the complexities that surround whatever resolution he chooses to bring overwhelm me. The shadows are maddening. Why won't he just tell me, or show me!
My sense is that the answer is there, but I am not ready to receive his words. There is something he is doing in me that apparently must come before he reveals what he is going to do with me. So I watch and try to cooperate as he moves and shapes pieces of my life — both internally and externally. I'm waiting in what sounds like silence, but in truth God is on the loose.
Mistaken for Silence: Deep Calling to Deep
A third response from God that can be mistaken for silence is the most difficult to grasp. Perhaps the best way to introduce it is through the words of Psalm 42:
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God . . .
My tears have been my food day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
"Where is your God?" (Psalm 42:1-3)