The Beauty of God's Silent

For years I had been tormented with the idea that God was silent in my life. As if the very nature of those words meant something bad, or even worse that God was distant. If He didn't answer me then surely He wasn't there. Shouts of "Why?" or "Can't you hear me, Lord?" were exclamations that occupied my mind and my heart. Sadly, because of that mentality I fear that at times I had failed to recognize the divine presence in my life. Why is it that when God is silent we automatically think He isn't there? What is it about His silence do we actually fear? The Lord tells us He will never leave us so why fret? Franis Chan states in his book Forgotten God, that "it is safer for us to avoid situations where we need God then to stake it all on Him and risk God's silence. " This is where our thoughts live. We don't go to God because we are afraid that God will be silent. But here's the deal, God's silence is not a bad thing.
Have you ever been in a room with someone you love very dearly and yet neither of you speak to one another? You don't feel forgotten by this person you feel so comfortable and intimate with them that there are no words needed to validate your relationship. Even if you are burdened with something and you tell them; yet they have no words there is love shown by the fact that they are there for you. The Spirit has awaken me to the idea that God's silence is one of intimacy. His answer of silence means He wants you to delight in Him and know Him more. His silence means He has it all under control and all we need to do is trust. I think so often I look for the earthquake and fire when I need to be listening for the small voice(1 Kings 19). It is in this silence that comes a process of stillness in which we can grow in our identity as the beloved. So maybe instead of being fearful of God's silence we can look forward to it.