When God Doesn't Answer

In the aftermath of Katrina, a Scripture that has come to my mind is Matthew 5:45, which tells us the rain falls on the just and the unjust. God may never explain some of the greatest difficulties that Christians encounter. Catastrophes, injuries, financial woes— some things seem to exist in an 'answerless abyss' where, even after repeated inquiring, it may appear that God isn't concerned enough to answer us. After hours spent in Scripture or days on our knees in prayer, we still may not have received the understanding we seek regarding the “hows” or “whys” of various life scenarios and predicaments.

Whether we like to admit it or not, this is a commonly shared quandary among God's people. Is there a plausible explanation to this lack of divine intervention and communication in those times that seem to require them the most? In this article, I will examine a passage from Isaiah that may help us.

Isaiah 50:10
"Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God.

The person speaking in this prophetic utterance from Isaiah is the Messiah, "[God the Father's] Servant"—the Lord Jesus Christ.

I will not be explicating the full scriptural context of this passage. Rather, I will be using a hypothetical individual as a representative of all believers. By doing this, I will apply this passage's principles to those predicaments I mentioned earlier: occasions in life in which we do not receive understanding as to why something happened or is happening, or when we are without the voice/leading of God to direct us in our decision-making processes.

CURRENT STATE OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN DARKNESS

Fears the Lord

The first thing to notice about the individual in this answerless abyss is that he or she fears the Lord. This person is not a runaway from the Father's house. This is a person who fears God and is therefore in all probability practicing godly wisdom:

Proverbs 1:7a
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Since this person fears the Lord, this individual has likely applied his or her knowledge of God's ways as He has revealed to him or her in the past. Yet even after putting to use the wisdom acquired from God, either the question the individual has posed of God remains unanswered, or the solution is still absent. This person is still walking in an answerless darkness.

Hears and Obeys God's Voice

The second thing we notice about this individual is that he or she obeys the Lord's voice, which implies that he or she hears His voice. However, for some reason at this place and time, there is no voice to answer his or her deep questions, no guidance, no word, no Scripture illuminated in this individual’s heart to lead them out of the darkness.

Even though it appears that this individual is in the proper spiritual condition to find the answer he or she seeks (whether by tapping into a personal storehouse of godly wisdom, or by following God's voice/leading), he or she has not found the answer or guidance needed. Is there anything more that this person can do? Some possibilities that well meaning believers will likely counsel this individual to try may include:

• Reevaluate his or her application of godly wisdom to ensure that this person did everything that should have been done in this particular case.
• Reexamine his or her listening abilities to guarantee he or she is spending quality time to hear what God may want to reveal. Or perhaps this person has not heard what God already 'whispered' to his or her heart, since he or she was expecting a loud and clear answer and thus missed what He said with His still, small voice. On the other hand, maybe this individual did not believe that what was heard was God's voice/leading because he or she was expecting or hoping for Him to say something different.

Despite any of the possible causes of prolonged darkness in the area of life or need one may have, and in spite of the well-intentioned counsel given by fellow believers, the Lord's answer in Isaiah 50:10 to the dilemma is different than what anyone may have thought it was.

THE LORD’S RESPONSE TO THE INDIVIDUAL IN DARKNESS

Trust in the Name of the Lord

First, an individual is to trust in the name of the Lord. In the Old Testament, the names of God carry special significance, sometimes combining man's needs with God's attributes. In the case of someone walking in darkness with no clear answer or direction, one or more of the many names of God in Scripture may be relevant. For example: Jehovah Jireh, if provision is needed; Jehovah Rapha, if healing is needed; the Lord our Rock, if protection is needed; Jehovah Shalom, if peace is needed—the list is endless. The more one knows about God, the more one can trust in His name and, thus, in His ability to do whatever is best.

So, the first step given in Isaiah 50:10 is for the person in this answerless abyss to simply trust in what God has already revealed of Himself by name, whether in Scripture or in their personal life.¹

Rely Upon God

Secondly, the person without the Lord’s light revealing the answer or the sought-after guidance is to rely upon his or her God. The admonition is not to rely on what godly wisdom has proven helpful in the past, nor on what God has revealed about this sort of thing before. Rather, it is what I term a "relational response" to the answerless abyss—a simple, childlike reliance on God because He is our Father! When one does not have the needed answers to life's dilemmas, nor is given the pathway to follow out of darkness, one can figuratively lay his or her head on the Lord's breast and rest in Him with a peaceful confidence that He is in control and will carry him or her along life's dark trails.

Therefore, the second step in Isaiah 50:10 is for an individual to simply rely on God without any conditions attached. One should trust God because He is trustworthy, even when one does not understand how.

In conclusion, God loves us enough to bring us through the dark periods in life where the light of His ways are not clearly seen. Our trust and reliance on Him in those times will cause us to develop an Abba-like bond with our loving Father. We will soon come to realize that as our Father, He does not have to explicitly guide us when we think He should, nor does He have to speak to us whenever we think He does. He is always with us and He may just want us to trust Him as our Father, despite the unanswered questions and the dark circumstances we sometimes live in.