Master's Canvas – Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Introduction

Last week, we reflected on a difficult but comforting truth: God’s presence with us does not disappear because of our sin. Thankfully, His faithfulness is not as fragile as our obedience.

Actually, His faithfulness is not fragile at all. It’s unshakeable.

And yet—even when we believe that to be true—many of us still struggle with a different kind of tension.

God, Are You There?

What about the seasons when God feels silent?

You’re praying.
You’re reading Scripture.
You’re trying to walk faithfully.

And still—nothing seems to be happening.

No clear answers.
No strong sense of direction.
No obvious movement.

Just ordinary days, strung together with waiting.

When Faith Feels Like Waiting

We often assume that walking with God should feel active—marked by insight, reassurance, or visible forward momentum. When it doesn’t, we’re tempted to wonder whether we’ve stalled spiritually or missed something important.

But Scripture tells a more honest story.

Many of God’s people experienced long stretches of quiet faithfulness. Seasons where obedience looked less like bold action and more like steady trust. God’s work is often slow, and slow work can feel indistinguishable from no work at all.

Waiting, it turns out, is not a detour in the life of faith.
It is often the path itself.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.
—Psalm 37:7 (NIV)

Why do you suppose David was inspired to pen these words? Could it have been a reminder to himself (and now to all of us) that he needed to trust God and His timing instead of assuming He forgot about David’s impassioned prayers?

When God’s Silence Feels Like Absence

If you’re anything like me, this is an area where you quietly struggle.

The Bible depicts moments when people seem to speak with God directly—almost conversationally. Abraham reasons with God. Moses pleads and argues. God responds. Engages. Even appears to “change His mind.”

Meanwhile, we pray and hear nothing.

That contrast can create real dissonance. If they spoke with God so clearly, why don’t we? Is something wrong with us? Or were those stories simply exaggerated?

But there’s a crucial piece of the story we can’t overlook.

Abraham and Moses lived before Jesus.

They did not yet have the full revelation of God’s heart. They did not have God-with-us in human form. Those dramatic encounters were not everyday experiences—they were a few pivotal moments in God’s unfolding relationship with His people.

When Jesus enters the story, the mode of relationship changes.

Jesus doesn’t negotiate with God—He reveals Him. He speaks of God not as a distant authority to be reasoned with, but as Father. He shows us what life lived in constant communion with God actually looks like.

The term He used most often to address God was “Dad“—a word intended to convey familiarity and affection.

But How Can We Do This Without You???

And as Jesus was getting ready to leave this earth (for the time being), His disciples wondered how in the world they would continue His work without Him. But Jesus was preparing them to receive the Holy Spirit—God’s presence even closer and more consistent than ever before.

No longer external.
No longer occasional.
No longer requiring the physical presence of a Person.
No longer dependent on extraordinary encounters.

God’s work becomes quieter—but deeper.

Silence, then, is not absence.
It is often intimacy without spectacle.

God may feel less dramatic now than the stories of Abraham and Moses—but He is no less near.

The Slow Faithfulness God Often Uses

Much of what God does in us happens beneath the surface.

Like roots growing underground, His work is usually invisible while it’s happening—and only obvious later, when something holds firm under pressure.

Formation takes time. Trust grows slowly. Faith matures in repetition, not fireworks.

If God feels quiet, it may not be because He has stepped away.
It may be because He is doing a deeper work than you can sense while He’s doing it.

Walking Even When It Feels Ordinary

Walking with God isn’t primarily about moments of clarity—it’s about remaining present when clarity doesn’t come. It’s about continuing forward, even when the road looks the same day after day.

Walking with God when it feels like nothing is happening may be one of the most faithful things we ever do.

Not because it feels spiritual.
But because it shows God that we trust Him, that we believe He is at work even when we can’t see it.

That’s faith.

Go Deeper

Why They Heard God—and We Often Don’t

Abraham and Moses lived in moments of transition, when God was forming covenant identity and direction. Their encounters were extraordinary because the story itself was still being established.

But they also lived before Jesus.

Jesus changes everything.

He doesn’t simply speak for God—He is the clearest expression of God. Where earlier figures negotiated, Jesus reveals. Where others stood at a distance, Jesus draws near.

Because of Jesus, God’s presence is no longer something we occasionally encounter—it is something we live within.

So if your prayers feel quiet, and God seems silent, it doesn’t mean God is farther away than He was from Abraham or Moses.

It may mean He is closer than you realize.

Question: “If God spoke so directly to people in the Bible, why doesn’t He speak that way to me?”

At the risk of sounding a bit crazy, I have to admit that as I was writing this blog post, this question popped into my mind. I don’t know, maybe it sounds like I was arguing with myself. Nevertheless, I thought it was worth addressing.

It’s an honest question—and it matters.

Abraham and Moses lived during moments when God was establishing covenant foundations. Their encounters were rare and formative.

Jesus represents a different kind of relationship.

Instead of occasional conversations, Jesus offers ongoing communion.
Instead of God speaking from outside, God speaks from within.
Instead of constant instruction, God forms trust through presence.

The absence of dramatic dialogue doesn’t mean faith is weaker now.
It means God is nearer.

Faith after Jesus isn’t about hearing more words.
It’s about learning to recognize a presence.

Questions for Further Reflection

• Do I expect God to speak to me the same way He did in earlier chapters of Scripture?
• How does Jesus reshape what I expect “conversation with God” to look like?
• Where might God be at work in my life in ways that feel quiet, slow, or ordinary?

A Final Encouragement

If you’re walking with God and it feels like nothing is happening, don’t assume that’s the case.

Remember that some of God’s most important work happens quietly—after the conversations, after the miracles, after the last praise song has faded. It happens in the depth of our being.

We usually can’t recognize that it’s happening while it’s happening. But then one day, we will suddenly feel God’s presence stronger than we ever have. We’ll step into a situation that would have tripped us up previously, and pass through it without even a stumble. We’ll say or achieve something we never would have thought possible. It may be only then that the imperceptible becomes something you notice.

That’s how God often works, my friends.

Different season.
Same God.
Still walking with us, abiding in us. Blessing us beyond anything we could ever imagine.