Finding God in the Silence: Embracing Hiddenness and Spiritual Dryness

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2017

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover how the absence of God’s felt presence can be part of his transformative grace. Mike Erre shares deeply from his current season of spiritual dryness, wrestling with divine silence, emotional fatigue, and the disorienting experience of not sensing God. Drawing from scripture, mystics, theology, and his own heartache, Mike explores the paradox of a God who is always present but sometimes hidden.

This episode is a vulnerable and powerful conversation about the dark night of the soul, why God may withhold his tangible presence, and what we can learn when spiritual adrenaline runs dry. Whether you’re currently wandering through one of those desolate spiritual seasons or accompanying someone who is, this episode offers honesty, hope, and a roadmap for seeking God in the silence.

Key Takeaways:
• God's Hiddenness Isn't Absence — Unpacking the biblical concept of God’s manifest vs. universal presence, and why his felt absence might actually be forming us into deeper maturity.
• Seeking in the Dry Seasons — How spiritual dryness can be an invitation to pursue God more earnestly, with examples from scripture including the Psalms, Isaiah, and Jesus’ parables.
• The Role of Timing — Exploring the idea that sometimes God's silence is strategic, waiting for the right moment to reveal himself more deeply or guide us forward.
• Ugly Prayers and Authentic Faith — Learning to bring raw, unfiltered emotion into our prayer lives in seasons of doubt, fear, or exhaustion.
• Follow the Faith of Others — When you can’t see God for yourself, trust the community around you who might be seeing him on your behalf.

Guest Highlights:
This heartfelt episode features the unscripted, pastoral wisdom of co-host Andy Lara, who joins Mike in reflecting on faith, resistance, and the courage of walking through suffering alongside one another in community.

Resources Mentioned:
• Isaiah 45:15 – “Truly, you are a God who hides himself”
• The Dark Night of the Soul (Concept) – Writings from Christian mystics on spiritual dryness
• Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis – The story of Lucy and Aslan as a metaphor for following even when others can’t yet see
• John 15:1-5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches”
• The Psalms of Lament – Honest, raw expressions of spiritual emptiness and longing

Call to Action:
If you’re in a season of silence or feeling far from God, you’re not alone. Join the conversation, send us your questions, and share your story. Then subscribe, leave a review, and follow us to stay connected with the Voxology community.

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, Internet.
0:14.2	Mike and Andy, Mandy, as we're known in some circles, coming at you from the Vox World headquarters,
0:20.4	area of California. Mainly up at TMZ. Yep from the Vox World headquarters, Brea, California.
0:21.3	Mainly up at TMZ.
0:22.3	They call us Mandy.
0:23.4	Yep.
0:23.8	And the paparazzi's been out after us.
0:27.1	I've been sunbathing.
0:30.0	One of the things that I hear is a cure for melanoma is more sun.
0:33.9	So I've been out just kind of shirtlessly roaming around Brea. The nice thing about
0:39.9	living in Brea, though, is the Asian community in Brea really sets the standards for suncare.
0:48.0	So when I'm driving around and I see people with like white gloves on in their car or like the big
0:53.2	visors that come down you know yeah
0:55.4	I'm like okay all right these are my people yeah I'm now I'm now these people it's it's a
1:01.7	it's a very beautiful beautiful thing how's your waving campaign going I am on a roofless campaign
1:08.4	to win my neighbors over via waving.
1:12.4	And right now it is very hit or miss.
1:17.7	I've met several of them.
1:19.9	I know them by name.
1:21.3	We've brought cookies over to some that we didn't know, but we heard they had surgery.
1:25.3	So we've done two cookie runs.
1:27.1	We're planning a third one for next week.
	...

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