Why God is silent...and why that does not mean He is absent!

“If God exists, why doesn’t He put an end to the misery in the world? Or does He perhaps enjoy wars and famine?” Many of my atheist, agnostic, and apathetic acquaintances ask such questions from a sincere place. And to be honest, it’s not an unreasonable argument.

The pain in the world cries out for an answer. And yet... it is not the only reasonable argument. For me, the biblical idea that God is temporarily silent (to allow evil to destroy itself) is a better answer. And that belief gives me access to the source of comfort, love, and justice: the God of Jesus.

Let me explain why.

Imagine two powers: the power of good and the power of evil. Good must remain true to its nature. It cannot resort to the means used by evil: manipulation, exclusion, hatred, division, violence. As soon as good uses those means, it loses itself—it is no longer good.

Evil knows no such limits. It uses everything available to break, divide, and destroy: famines, environmental pollution of every kind, and wars, to name just a few examples. This sometimes makes it seem stronger, but in reality it ultimately destroys itself. For where evil reigns, disorder, internal strife, and self-destruction arise. Evil destroys its own biotope. It sows chaos and is swallowed up by it.

What then remains for good? Waiting.

The power of good (which we have come to call God) can only remain true to itself by not striking back with the same weapons. It seems silent, perhaps absent. But this is temporary. It waits. Not out of indifference, but out of loyalty to good itself. That is the answer given in the books of the Bible: that God waits for the moment when evil has exhausted itself. Only then can there be true restoration, without goodness betraying itself.

In the Bible, you see this structure in the book of Job. There, the adversary (Satan) challenges God, and God does not respond with retribution or violence. He lets it happen. Not because He is indifferent, but because good does not fight as evil does. And in the end, fate turns around. Not because God wins by aggressive means, because then he would be evil, but because the good and the constructive cannot ultimately be destroyed. Not by Satan; by no one.

Jesus is also silent now. At least, in world politics. Not for those who approach him. In his earthly life, he spoke, acted, and fought injustice with love. Now he sits at the right hand of the temporarily silent god, not as a spectator, but as the one who exemplified how love is stronger than death.

And for those who recognize Jesus as the Messiah, as the son of God who will ultimately bring salvation to the world, something beautiful is at work. For they are not without direction in this time. For there is the Comforter, the Parakleitos, the Holy Spirit who is at work on earth. He does not work through large systems or religious institutions, but precisely in the individual, in the heart of the believer. He is not a public force, but a personal presence. He whispers, encourages, reminds, and comforts. And He does so from within: gently, faithfully, purely.

And then there is the bride of Jesus; the image of the ultimate union between Christ and his beloved community. That too is still a mysterion, a hidden reality. Not completed, not visible in glory. That bride is still imperfect and still searching. But she is there. In hidden hearts, in acts of love, in hope that persists against all odds. Those who believe already live that promise, even if its fulfillment is still to come.

And so I believe that God's temporary absence from world politics and religious institutions is not a rejection, but a profound mystery of loving faithfulness. That he waits because he refuses to fight evil with evil. Because he knows that evil will ultimately destroy itself. And that only goodness has eternal value. A goodness that does not leave us alone in the meantime, but carries us silently, touches us personally, and gives us hope. In secrecy, all that is new and future grows: a bride, a promise, and a renewal of heaven and earth.