400 years of God's silence, and then a baby is born. God likes to delay, if you notice in Scripture. 400 years of slavery in Egypt, God seemingly absent and uncaring. 400 years of silence in between the old and new testaments. I've been thinking recently about how we do not give ourselves space for the agony of anticipation in our society. This is the season of Advent, where traditionally the church celebrates the waiting for Christ to come...but we've changed that, singing Christmas songs about Jesus being here instead of the songs of longing waiting for him to come. We ignore the fact that Advent also reminds us that we continue waiting for his victorious Second coming. We don't just do this at Christmas-- we skip Lent in my church entirely, and jump straight to Good Friday and Easter without the month of deprivation to remind us of just how special Easter is. But on Sunday we were reminded that God waits in silence sometimes, but his silence is not his absence. Having just come out of a long period of God's silence on my future, and rejoicing all the more in a future because of the looooooonng wait I had to find out about it, I see the faith-strengthening value in waiting out that time of silence.
So for all who may be in a time of silence, remember that God's silence does not equal his absence. After 400 years of silence, there are angels singing, a baby born, joy to the world, but don't forget about the 400 years of silence. Wait on the Lord, and he will come, for he is faithful to save.
