God is not asleep

Feast of St. Monica

For those of us who have been through a crisis would know what it means to be gripped by panic, doubt, fear.  One likely reason for such anxiety is that we begin to wonder whether God is really paying attention to us during our distress or had slept off on the watch. It is enough to drive a man crazy when he is confronted with the deafening silence of God.

Today the church celebrates the feast of St. Monica. She is one of my favourite saints. St. Monica was a tenacious, patient and persistent prayer warrior who pray for 17 years for the conversion of her son, Augustine, who later became so strongly drawn to the faith that he was eventually canonised as one of the church's greatest teachers and philosophers and was designated as a doctor of the church. Wow...17 years of patient and persistence!

As we celebrate the Feast of St. Monica, her life story provides us some insights about God's silence. The silence of God should not be interpreted as His refusal to answer, nor does it indicate that He is disinterested in our affairs. The silence itself is an answer. Today, we may be in the midst of a difficult situation, we may be facing a problem that seems so huge. In human experience, God does not always intervene or seem to intervene as we would desire and our cries of agony often continue unattended. Rather than the presence of God, we perceive only his absence. 

God in His infinite wisdom, reveals Himself both in word and in silence. Both serve His purpose. Both silence and revelation bring us to a point of decision, offering us faith that goes beyond the superficial, a deepened relationship with God, a broadened understanding of who He is. In his silence we come to discover that true joy is not the absence of pain but the presence of God. As we come to accept his Silence, we humbly acknowledge that in this life God never fully discloses all the answers to our questions. Our comprehension will always remain as at dusk, between the full illumination of understanding and the darkness of complete ignorance. We may know enough to see, but not enough to fathom its depth. He has given us what is sufficient for the next stage of our journey, and allows us to crave for more. With that mystery, with that craving, there is a lesson to be learnt - God is to be trusted. This will stand us in good stead for what lies ahead.

However, the good news is God does not remain silent forever, and he is definitely not sleeping on the job. God will speak from the centre of the maelstrom to declare his authority over the mess in our lives, and God will rise up to calm the storms that continue to assail the illusory and temporary calmness of our lives. So, in the face of such stormy weather, what should we do? Pressing the panic button, fleeing or just throwing in the towel are certainly not viable solutions. We recognise that great temptation to abandon faith in God who seems to have abandoned us to our troubles. So, even when He seems silent or asleep, don’t PANIC! Believe that He is firmly in charge and He will steer us on course.