Barbra Gentry-Pugh

Trusting in The Quiet

June 29, 2025

“Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Psalms 131:1-2 (NLT)

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15 (NLT)

“Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalms 46:10 (NLT)

What do you do when heaven seems quiet, and your prayers seem to echo back in silence? There are moments in life when heaven seems quiet. You’ve prayed, you’ve cried, you’ve waited, and still, God is silent. You may have said, “God, where are You?” It’s a question many of us have quietly carried, especially in seasons of waiting, grief, injustice, pain, suffering, confusion, and especially now when the world seems to be going crazy. We cry out, seek God with our whole hearts, and yet, we hear nothing. No confirmation. No direction. No breakthrough. No answered prayer. Just quietness!

And if you’re honest, your soul may feel tired. You’re doing the right things: serving, loving, trusting, but deep inside, there’s a spiritual weariness that has settled in like fog. You wonder: “God, when will I hear from You? Don’t You hear me?” It’s not that you’ve turned from God. In fact, you’ve drawn nearer. But in return, all you hear is… nothing. No confirmation. No new direction.

Be mindful, God’s silence is not His absence. Sometimes the silence is the space where God invites you to rest, not to strive. To be still, not to figure it out. The world pushes us to keep going, but God whispers, “Come to Me.” God says in the Gospel of Matthew 11:28-30, Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (NLT)

Like Elijah under the broom tree, the soul doesn’t just need a new word, it needs refreshment. Elijah didn’t hear God in the wind, fire, or earthquake. It was in the gentle whisper that God spoke, as noted in 1 Kings 19:11-12. Sometimes the silence is where your healing is hiding.

Again, be mindful that God’s silence may be an indication of His patience. At times, God seems silent. By His silence, He is not condoning sin, nor is he indifferent to it. Instead, He is withholding deserved punishment, giving time for people to repent – 2 Peter 3:9. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and wants them to turn from evil, in Ezekiel 33:11. But His silence does not last forever, a time of punishment will surely come.

But could it be that the quiet isn’t a punishment, is it a place?
A place where trust is refined.
A place where faith is stretched.
A place where we’re invited to draw near, not drift away.

Trusting in the quiet means believing that God is still present, even when He isn’t speaking in ways we expect. It means learning to rest, not in the answers, but in the assurance that He is still God, and He is still good.

What has God been teaching you in the quiet places of your life?

The Importance of Silence in Our Lives

Silence Honors Deep Suffering

In Job 2:13, Job’s friends initially did the most compassionate thing they could: they sat in silence. They recognized his grief was too heavy for words. In Jewish tradition, silence in mourning isn’t awkward; it’s sacred. Silence communicates what words often fail to: “I see you. I’m with you. I care.”

There are times that “The Ministry of Presence” is in order. Sometimes, our presence in silence speaks louder than our most spiritual words. Comfort doesn’t always come through advice; it comes through companionship. Ecclesiastes 3:7 reminds us, there is “a time to be silent and a time to speak.”

Silence Cultivates Reverence for God

Psalm 46:10 reminds us that in the stillness, we rediscover who God is. When life is loud and chaotic, silence becomes a spiritual discipline that re-centers us on God’s sovereignty. Silence sets the atmosphere not just the absence of noise, it’s the presence of reverence. In silence, we step back from striving and remember that He is God, and we are not.

Silence Can Reflect God’s Patience

Psalm 50:21 reveals a sobering truth: God’s silence is not always approval—it may be His patience. When people confuse divine silence with divine indifference, they misunderstand His merciful delay. As 2 Peter 3:9 explains, God is patient, not wanting anyone to perish but all to come to repentance.

God’s silence may be a pause for grace, not a sign of abandonment. It’s a space for repentance, reflection, and redirection.

Silence Is One Of The Best Expressions Of Respect For God. War and destruction are inevitable, but so is God’s final victory. At that time, all will stand quietly before the Lord Almighty. How proper, then, for us to be still now, reverently honoring him and his power and majesty. Take time each day to be still and to exalt God. While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you noted in Psalm 50:21.

These things you have done, and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.

Introspective Questions:

How do you respond when God seems silent?
Is there someone in your life who needs your silent presence more than your words?
Are you making room in your life to be still and know God?
Could God’s silence be calling you to repentance, or simply rest?

Scripture says,

Job 2:13, “They sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.”

Psalms 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” (NLT)

Psalms 50:21, “While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you.” (NLT)

YOUR HEART CHALLENGE: What has God been teaching you in the quiet places of life? Think of a time when God was quiet in your life. What did you feel? Was it fear, confusion, peace, or something else?

~ How did you respond to the silence?

~ In what ways might God have been drawing you closer in that quiet season?

~What can you do today to quiet your heart and lean into trust, without needing all the answers?

Again, ask God: “What are You teaching me in the stillness?”

How has God met you in silence?

A QUIET HEART: A quiet heart is a heart that rests in the sovereignty of God. A heart that is unshaken by noise, pressure, or uncertainty. It’s not the absence of trouble, but the presence of trust. A quiet heart is anchored, not in circumstances, but in the assurance that God is near, even when He is silent.

It does not strive, manipulate, or panic.
It waits and listens.
It believes that God is still working behind the scenes.

A quiet heart reflects a spirit that has learned to trust, not because it sees the answer, but because it knows the Answerer- God! Psalm 131:2 seems to capture it beautifully: “Psalms 131:2, “Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (NLT)

PRAYER:  Father God, thank You for Your authoritative, inerrant, and inspired Word that gives us clear instructions on how to trust You in the quiet places of life. Father, teach us the sacredness of silence. Father, when we feel weary and You seem quiet, remind us that You are always near. We surrender our need for answers and receive Your invitation to rest in the quietness. Help us to trust in Your timing and find strength in stillness. Father, when we are tempted to fill the quiet with noise or words, help us to remember that You often speak clearest in stillness. Help us to learn to sit with others in silence and be a faithful presence, just as You are with us. Even when You are silent, help us to trust that You are still working, still loving, and still calling us closer, in the Precious, Powerful, and Preeminent name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.