The Question We've Been Waiting For
We've spent five sermons learning how-to live-in God's silence.
We've learned that God is hidden, but not absent. We've learned that silence is refinement, not punishment. We've learned that God withholds explanation to develop deeper faith. We've learned that faith can function without feedback. We've learned all of this.
But now comes the question that every person in pain wants to ask.
When does it end?
When does the silence break? When does the darkness lift? When do the unanswered prayers finally get answered? When does the breakthrough come?
I want to tell you something. You're asking the right question. But you might be asking it with the wrong expectation.
Because here's what I've learned. The breakthrough doesn't always come the way we expect. It doesn't always look the way we imagine. And sometimes, the most important breakthrough is invisible to everyone but you and God.
THE PATTERN OF SCRIPTURE
Silence Precedes Revelation, Not the Other Way Around
There's a pattern in Scripture that, once you see it, you can't unseen it.
Silence precedes clarity. Darkness precedes light. Death precedes resurrection. The womb precedes birth. The winter precedes spring.
This is how God works.
Think about Jesus. Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness. Fasting. Praying. Facing temptation. Alone. Silent. Struggling. And only after those forty days of silence does, He emerge to begin His public ministry. Only after the wilderness comes the work.
Think about Peter. Peter denies Jesus three times. Peter experiences shame, confusion, guilt. Peter is in darkness. Peter is in silence. And in that silence, something breaks in Peter. Something dies. And something new is born. And when Jesus appears, Peter is different. Peter is ready. And Jesus doesn't just restore Peter. Jesus transforms Peter.
Think about Paul. Paul encounters the risen Jesus on the Damascus Road. And Paul goes blind. Paul spends days in darkness. Paul is in silence. Ananias prays for him, and Paul's eyes are opened. Not just physically, but spiritually. And the man who emerges from that darkness is not the same man who entered it. He's transformed.
This is the biblical pattern. Silence is preparatory. Darkness is gestational. The quiet season is not the end of the story. It's the beginning of a new chapter.
And Job faithful, suffering, desperate Job Job is the ultimate example.
Job sits in ashes for days. Job demands explanation. Job questions God. Job rages. Job laments. And through it all, God is silent. The silence goes on and on. Job's friends offer explanations. Job rejects them. Still silence.
But then something shifts.
God speaks. Not to answer Job's questions. God speaks to reveal Himself. God speaks about the majesty of creation, the vastness of purpose, the smallness of human perspective.
And Job's response is stunning: “I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You."
Notice what Job says. Job is not saying, "Now I understand why I suffered." Job is not saying, "Now I see the purpose of my pain." Job is saying something far more profound.
"My eye sees You."
The breakthrough for Job is not external restoration. The breakthrough is relational transformation. Job moves from hearing about God to seeing God. Job moves from theoretical knowledge to experiential knowledge. Job moves from faith to encounter.
This is what happens when the silence breaks. This is what emerges from the darkness.
Not just answers to our questions. But a transformed relationship with God.
Not just relief from pain. But refined understanding of who God is.
Not just circumstances changing. But us changing.
THE FIRE DOESN'T DESTROY, IT TRANSFORMS
What Real Abundance Looks Like
I need to tell you about a season in my life when I thought the silence would never break.
I was in my mid-thirties. I'd been pastoring for several years. And I began to face criticism. People questioned my theology. People questioned my leadership. People left the church. And I was devastated.
I'd been faithful. I'd been honest. I'd been trying to serve God with integrity. And I was being attacked. So I went into my own wilderness season. I stopped sharing publicly. I withdrew. I questioned whether I was even called to ministry anymore.
The silence wasn't just God being silent. The silence was me being silent. I was sitting in my own ashes, wondering if God still believed in me.
And I stayed there for longer than I should have. I was paralyzed. I was bitter. I was looking for an exit when God wanted me to look for Him. The accusations became my identity. The criticism became my confession. I believed the worst about myself because I was too broken to believe anything else.
I needed a rescue. And I got one.
A trusted mentor looked me in the eye and said, "You're not being refined by criticism. You're being refined by this season. And when you come out of it, people will know. Not because you convince them. But because you'll be different. You'll be deeper. You'll be more secure in who God made you to be."
He wasn't telling me I was strong. He was reminding me that God was.
Listen to what Psalm 66 says:"For you, O God, have tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance."
Notice the progression. Testing. Refinement. Prison. Burdens. Oppression. Fire. Water. And then breakthrough. Abundance.
But here's what's crucial. When the psalm says "abundance," it doesn't mean God is giving you more stuff. It means God has made you bigger.
Think about it like a potter on a wheel. The potter takes a lump of clay and places it on the spinning wheel. Then the potter does something uncomfortable. The potter applies pressure. The potter pulls. The potter stretches. The clay resists. It hurts. It feels like the pot is being torn apart.
But that's the only way the pot gets bigger. That's the only way the vessel can hold more water.
The fire didn't give you more possessions. The fire gave you more capacity. Your heart got bigger. Not because you earned it. But because the dross of your ego was burned away.
You can now hold more joy because you're not clutching onto bitterness. You can hold more empathy because your own suffering has broken your heart open. You can hold more of God's presence because you've stopped trying to control what God does.
When I finally emerged from that wilderness, I wasn't vindicated by my critics changing their minds. I was vindicated by my own transformation. I was vindicated by becoming more secure in who God made me to be. I was vindicated by my faith deepening rather than diminishing.
The breakthrough wasn't external validation. The breakthrough was internal expansion.
And that's what Psalm 66 is saying. God doesn't just deliver us from the fire. God brings us to a place of abundance not abundance of stuff, but abundance of capacity. Abundance of depth. Abundance of the kind of spiritual maturity that can only be forged in the furnace.
The refining process doesn't culminate in destruction. It culminates in expansion.
YOUR WORD IS STILL WORKING
The Certainty That Never Fades
Here's something that will revolutionize how you understand the silent season.God's word remains efficacious even when its fulfillment is delayed.
Listen to Isaiah 55:"So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish all that I intend and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
God's word does not fail because it's not yet manifested. God's word does not become less true because the breakthrough hasn't arrived. God's word is accomplishing its purpose right now, in the silence, in the darkness, in the waiting.
When God promises something, that promise is not dependent on your ability to perceive it. That promise is not dependent on your timeline. That promise is not dependent on when you feel ready to receive it. The promise is dependent solely on God's faithfulness.
And God's faithfulness is unshakeable.
Let me tell you what this means practically. Right now, someone is listening to this sermon, and they're thinking, "I've been praying for my marriage to be restored for three years. Is the breakthrough coming?"
I don't know. But I know this. God's word about covenant and reconciliation and redemption is still working. It's still true. It's still efficacious. It's accomplishing something in you, even if you can't see it yet.
Someone else is thinking, "I've been waiting for a job for eighteen months. I've sent out hundreds of resumes. Is the breakthrough coming?"
I don't know. But I know this. God's word about provision and care and purpose is still working. It's still accomplishing something. It's still refining your faith, deepening your trust, preparing you for what's next.
Someone else is thinking, "My child hasn't come home. My prodigal is still far from God. I've been praying for years. Is the breakthrough coming?"
I don't know. But I know this. God's word never returns empty. God is still working. God is still pursuing your child. God is accomplishing something in the waiting, in the not-knowing, in the anguish.
Silence does not negate the promise. Delay does not diminish the certainty. God's word is as true in the darkness as it was when you first claimed it.
RELIEF VS. RELEASE
What Breakthrough Actually Looks Like
Here's what I need you to understand. When the silence breaks, the breakthrough might not look like you expect.
You might expect relief. The job materializes. The diagnosis comes back negative. The prodigal comes home. The marriage is restored. The debt is paid. These things can happen. God does work miracles.
But sometimes, the breakthrough is release.
Relief is when the debt is paid. Release is when the debt no longer defines your worth.
Relief is when the body is healed. Release is when your joy isn't dependent on your health
anymore.
Relief is when circumstances change. Release is when you change so completely that circumstances can't shake you.
Here's the painful truth we often miss. We often pray for God to change our mailing address (external relief), but God is busy changing our identity (internal breakthrough).
If God gives you the blessing before He gives you the character to handle the weight of it, the blessing will crush you. The internal shift is the real miracle. The external change is just the paperwork catching up.
Job's breakthrough includes both. His wealth is restored. His family is restored. His health is restored. This is real relief. But notice the relief comes after Job's transformation. The external breakthrough follows the internal breakthrough.
First, Job encounters God. First, Job's eyes are opened. First, Job is released from his need to understand everything. And then, the circumstances change.
This is the biblical pattern. Transformation precedes manifestation. Internal breakthrough precedes external breakthrough.
So when you're waiting for your breakthrough, don't just look for circumstances to change. Look for yourself to change. Don't just wait for the external signs. Notice the internal shifts. The way you're more patient than you used to be. The way you're more trusting. The way your faith is stronger. The way you're more deeply rooted in God.
These are the real breakthroughs. And they often precede the circumstantial changes.
THE CHRISTOLOGICAL ANCHOR: THE SCARS THAT SHINE
Jesus Kept His Wounds
But I want to end with this. To understand what happens after the silent season, look at Jesus after the crucifixion.
Jesus dies on Friday. Jesus is silent in the grave for three days. The disciples are in hiding. The disciples are terrified. The disciples believe everything is over. The disciples experience what they think is the end.
But it's not the end. It's the beginning.
On Sunday morning, resurrection. On Sunday morning, breakthrough. On Sunday morning, what seemed like failure is revealed as victory. What seemed like silence is revealed as the deepest work. What seemed like death is revealed as transformation.
And the disciples don't just get Jesus back. They get a transformed Jesus. A Jesus who has moved through death and emerged on the other side. A Jesus who has been refined in the ultimate fire and emerges glorified.
But notice this. When the disciples see the risen Jesus, the first thing they notice is His scars.
Jesus didn't leave His wounds behind in the tomb. Jesus' resurrection body bears the marks of the crucifixion. Thomas touches the wounds. The disciples see them. The scars are still there.
But they're different now.
The scars are no longer marks of shame. They're marks of victory. The wounds are no longer evidence of failure. They're evidence of triumph. The crucifixion didn't end Jesus. The crucifixion revealed who Jesus is.
Here's what this means for you. The breakthrough doesn't erase your history. It redeems it. Your scars are the evidence that you survived the silence. They are the "gold" in the cracks of your story.
In Japanese art, there's a practice called Kintsugi. When a pot breaks, the artisan doesn't discard it. The artisan carefully glues it back together with gold lacquer. The pot is still a pot. But now it's beautiful in a new way. The cracks are filled with gold. The breaks are more radiant than the original ceramic.
Your life will be like that. When your breakthrough comes, you won't just be restored to what you were. You'll be transformed into something more beautiful than before.
This is what will happen to you. When your breakthrough comes, you won't just be restored to the way things were. You'll be transformed into something more than you were before. You'll emerge refined. You'll emerge glorified. You'll emerge deepened by the fire and strengthened by the silence.
Your resurrection is coming. Your breakthrough is coming. Your new chapter is coming.
Trust this. Hold on to this.
FROM ASHES TO GOLD THE COMPLETE JOURNEY
Do you remember where we started?
Five weeks ago, we began with a simple question. A spouse who refuses to speak. A parent who withholds explanation. A trusted friend who goes quiet when you need them most. And perhaps most troubling of all, a God who seems absent at the very moment you cry out for Him.
We called it the loneliness of faith meeting silence. And we asked: Is God's silence really His absence?
Today, we have our answer. We have walked the complete journey. And it's time to bring it all the way home.
THE COMPLETE JOURNEY: REMEMBERING THE BATTLE
Think back to where we started.
Remember when we realized that God being hidden didn't mean He was gone? We learned Deus absconditus the hidden God is a biblical category, not a spiritual crisis. That was our first breakthrough. We stopped running from the silence and started asking what it meant.
Remember when we looked at the goldsmith and realized the heat was actually a compliment? When we learned bachan—that God tests what He treasures? We discovered that the fire wasn't punishment. It was proof that God believed we were valuable enough to refine. That revelation changed everything.
Remember when we encountered yada? that God knows us intimately, relationally, covenantally? Not from a distance, but close. Involved. Present in the silence. That's when we realized God wasn't absent in our suffering. God was intimate with it.
Remember when we asked the hardest question: Why won't God explain? And we learned that God withholds explanation not out of cruelty, but out of love to protect the integrity of our faith, to keep us trusting God and not just understanding God.
Remember when we discovered emunah—that faith isn't a feeling, it's a choice? That we could stay at our post like a sentry in the rain, not because we felt brave, but because we were faithful? That's when faith stopped being fragile and became unshakeable.
We aren't just reviewing notes. We are looking back at the ground we've conquered.
And now we arrive here. At the breakthrough. At the moment when silence breaks into encounter. When external breakthrough follows internal transformation. When God doesn't just change our circumstances. God changes us.
THE COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION
Think about where you were when we started this series.
You were in pain. Real pain. The kind of pain that makes you question everything. The kind of pain that makes you demand explanations from God. The kind of pain that makes you feel abandoned, alone, forgotten.
You couldn't see what God was doing. You couldn't feel God's presence. You couldn't understand why God was silent.
But look at where you are now.
You understand that silence is not absence. You understand that the fire is refinement, not punishment. You understand that God knows you intimately, even in the darkness. You understand that God withholds explanation to protect the integrity of your faith. You understand that faith without feedback is not failure it's the mark of spiritual maturity.
And now you understand this: The breakthrough is coming.
Not because your circumstances have changed. Not because you've gotten the answers you demanded. But because you have changed. Because your faith has deepened. Because you've discovered a trust that doesn't depend on feeling. Because you've encountered God in the silence in a way that comfortable people never do.
This is the complete transformation. This is the journey from ashes to gold.
THE FULL CIRCLE MOMENT
Remember Job?
Job sits in ashes. Job scrapes his skin with broken pottery. Job demands explanation. Job cries out, "Where is God? Why is God silent?"
And the silence continues. For days. For what feels like forever.
But then, God speaks. And Job doesn't get answers. Job gets encounter. Job's eyes open. And Job says something that changes everything:
"I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You."
This is the full circle. This is the completion of the journey.
Job began in darkness, demanding clarity. Job ends in light, encountering God. Job began demanding explanation. Job ends encountering transformation. Job began asking "why?" Job ends saying "I see You."
And this is what's happening to you. You came to this series asking questions. You came demanding answers. You came in pain, seeking relief. You came in silence, seeking sound.
And the answer you're receiving is not an explanation. The answer is encounter. The answer is transformation. The answer is seeing God in a way you never could have seen Him if the silence had not happened.
You're Job. And your eyes are opening.
THE MANDATE: POST-WILDERNESS ORDERS
But this series doesn't end here. This is not the conclusion. This is the beginning.
Because now you must do something with what you've learned. Now you must live this out. Now you must become the refined gold that God has been making.
So, I'm going to give you a mandate. A charge. A calling forward into your new chapter.
First, own your silence. Stop apologizing for your wilderness season. Stop acting like you should be further along spiritually. Stop believing that mature faith means constant clarity and constant certainty. You are exactly where you need to be. The silence you're experiencing right now is not a mistake. It's a masterclass in faith. Own it. Embrace it. Learn from it.
Second, become a Silence Veteran. You now know what it feels like to be in the fire. You know what it feels like to pray and hear nothing. You know what it feels like to read Scripture and feel empty. You have "stripes" now. Your job isn't to give advice to people in pain. Your job is to sit in the ashes with them. Prove that the fire doesn't have the final word. Be the person who says, "I understand. I've been there. And I'm still here. God is refining you. Trust the process." Become a person who gives others permission to experience their darkness without shame.
Third, cultivate faith practices. Pray not because you feel heard, but because prayer aligns you with God. Read Scripture not because it immediately comforts you, but because it testifies to God's faithfulness. Serve not because you expect gratitude, but because serving reflects God's character. Worship not because you feel the Spirit, but because God is worthy of worship. These practices are the muscles that allow you to walk into your next season of silence with confidence.
Fourth, find and build your community. Find believers who have walked through fire and emerged refined. Find people who understand that faith is not a feeling. Find your tribe. And then, be that tribe for others. We are not meant to walk this journey alone. The body of Christ is designed for this. Use it. Lean on it. Strengthen it.
Fifth, prepare for your resurrection. Because there will be a breakthrough. The silence will break. The darkness will lift. And you need to be ready. Not ready in the sense of having everything figured out. But ready in the sense of having allowed God to transform you. Ready in the sense of having learned to trust without seeing. Ready in the sense of having become the refined gold that's been forming in the fire.
And when the breakthrough comes and it will come you won't just be relieved. You'll be grateful. Grateful for every moment of the silence. Grateful for every heat of the fire. Grateful for every question that went unanswered. Because you'll finally understand. The silence wasn't punishment. The fire wasn't cruelty. The waiting wasn't meaningless.
It was all preparation for who you were meant to become.
THE FINAL WORD: YOUR RESURRECTION IS COMING
I want to end with this.
You came into this series broken. You came in pain. You came with questions that wouldn't be answered. You came with wounds that wouldn't be healed on your timeline.
But something has happened over these five weeks. Something has shifted. You've learned that God is in the silence with you. You've learned that the fire is refining, not destroying. You've learned that faith can survive without feeling. You've learned that the breakthrough comes—not always in the way you expect, but it comes.
And now, as we close this series, I want you to know this.
Your resurrection is coming.
Not tomorrow necessarily. Not next week. Not on your timeline. But it's coming. The darkness will lift. The silence will break. The fire will cool. And you will emerge refined as gold.
You will see God. Not just believe about God. But see God. Encounter God. Know God in a way that was only possible because you walked through this season.
And you will be grateful.
So, hold on. The refiner is at work. The transformation is happening. The breakthrough is coming.
Your resurrection is coming.
BENEDICTION
As we bring this entire series to a close, carry this with you. Not just the theology. Not just the exegesis. Not just the beautiful words. But the lived experience of a God who is hidden but present, silent but working, refining but loving.
May the God of Job, who broke His silence and revealed Himself in a way that changed everything, grant you the faith to wait, the courage to trust, and the vision to see what God is doing beneath the surface.
May the God who promised that His word will not return empty, but will accomplish all that He intends, grant you the certainty that your breakthrough is coming, even if you cannot see it yet.
May the God of resurrection, who walked through three days of silence and emerged glorified with scars that shine, grant you the hope that your three days will end, your darkness will lift, your wounds will become gold, and your resurrection is coming.
And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured the ultimate fire so that we might be refined rather than destroyed, the love of God the Father, whose character you can trust even when you cannot feel it, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, who sustains us in the silence and whispers that we are loved, known, and held, be with you now and as you move forward into your new chapter.
Go forth. The silence is not the end. It's the deepest part of God's work. Trust it. Endure it. Allow it to transform you.
When God is silent, God is still working. And the work He's doing is making you into gold.
Amen
We have come full circle from the ashes of Job’s lament to the gold of his encounter. The silence has been broken, not by an explanation, but by the presence of the Refiner Himself. This concludes our series, When God Is Silent but Still Working. May your scars always be your gold, and may your 'Nevertheless' always be your victory. Amen.".
