Have you ever found yourself in a season where God seems quiet? You know He’s real, you’ve seen Him move before, but now, silence. No direction. No signs. Just waiting. That’s where the disciples found themselves between the Resurrection and the outpouring at Pentecost. Jesus had risen, hope was alive, yet the next step was unclear. It’s in this gap, this sacred space of stillness, that we discover one of the greatest tests of faith: trusting God when Heaven is silent.
This message, “When Heaven Is Silent: Trusting God Between the Resurrection and the Outpouring,” was initially preached at Miami First Assembly on May 25, 2025. In this post, I’m sharing both my full preaching notes and a link to the video message from our church’s YouTube channel. Whether you prefer to watch, read, or reflect, I pray this resource will encourage you to keep trusting when the answers seem delayed and the silence seems deafening.
Title: When Heaven Is Silent: Trusting God Between the Resurrection and the Outpouring
Primary Text: Acts 1:3-14
Message Notes:
Introduction:
Text: Acts 1:3; Isaiah 55:8–9
We are all in a season: we are either planting, growing, harvesting, or resetting and resting. Trusting in every season is challenging.
Let’s begin with the foundational passage that sets the stage for this message:
“He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” Acts 1:3 (ESV)
For 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus was very present with His disciples. He appeared to them, taught them, and gave them instructions about the kingdom of God. He proved He was alive. The disciples had seen Him die, and now they were witnessing Him fully alive.
This must have been the pinnacle of their spiritual lives. Consider this: resurrection power on full display. They walked and talked with the risen Lord. They were witnesses to the greatest miracle the world had ever known. Hope was alive. The Messiah had conquered death.
And then… He left.
He ascended into heaven before their very eyes. And all they were left with was a command: wait.
There was no calendar date for the next move of God. No strategic timeline. No Holy Spirit conference registration.
Just silence. And waiting.
Question: What do you do when you’ve experienced God’s power, but now all you feel is His silence?
Let’s read another passage that captures what often happens in moments like this:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8–9 (ESV)
Sometimes God doesn’t move in the ways we expect. His silence does not mean inactivity or absence. It means He is working at a level beyond what we can see.
This is the part of the story we don’t often preach on, the in-between. The days between the promise and the power. Between the resurrection and Pentecost. It’s the season where you know God has moved before, but now you feel nothing. You’re surrounded by silence. And you wonder what to do.
That’s where the disciples were. And that’s where many of us are today. We know God is real. We’ve seen Him work. But now, all is quiet.
And that silence can feel like confusion, like abandonment, like disappointment. But I want to encourage you today: the silence is not the end of the story. It’s not a detour from God’s will; it’s a design for your formation.
Let’s walk through this story together. Because how we wait in the silence shapes how we walk in the Spirit.
Check out Chad’s Blog Post: The Spirit’s Guidance: Trusting God’s Direction in Uncertain Times
POINT 1: The In-Between Season Is Part of God’s Plan
Texts: Acts 1:4–5; Luke 24:49
Let’s read our key scriptures for this point:
“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” Acts 1:4–5 (ESV)
“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49 (ESV)
Jesus gave His disciples a promise and a clear instruction: Wait. But he didn’t give them a countdown. He didn’t explain how long it would be. There was no schedule to follow, no checklist to mark off. “Stay where you are and wait for what I promised.”
For many of us, waiting feels like a waste of time. We associate silence with inactivity and delay with denial. But in the kingdom of God, the waiting room is often the preparation room. Waiting is not a pause in God’s plan; it’s part of the plan. It forms something in us that the promise alone never could.
Let’s look at a few biblical examples:
Abraham was promised a son, yet he waited 25 years for Isaac. That wait tested his faith, refined his heart, and deepened his dependence on God.
Joseph had dreams of leadership as a teenager. But before he ever stepped into influence, he was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned. From the pit to the prison, it looked like he was going in the opposite direction of the promise. Yet God used those very years to develop his character, humility, and wisdom.
David was anointed king while still a young shepherd. But instead of taking the throne, he returned to his flock. He spent years fleeing from Saul, hiding in caves, and enduring hardship. The crown came eventually, but only after his heart had been shaped through suffering.
In every case, the wait wasn’t punishment. It was preparation.
God used those seasons of silence and delay to mold their character, deepen their faith, and prepare them for the weight of what He had planned. Trusting God when heaven is silent means understanding that he is preparing you for something more!
Reflection:
“God’s delays are not God’s denials. His silence is often the soil where trust grows deepest.”
This isn’t just poetic. It’s deeply theological. Silence is not the absence of God; it’s often the strategy of God. He works in the shadows, in the stillness, in the seasons we least expect. And when we respond to the silence with faith, we are being shaped for what’s ahead.
Thought:
God’s timeline often includes a gap between the promise and its fulfillment. And here’s the question I want to press into your heart today: Can you trust God when all you have is His last word, but not His next move?
Can you remain faithful when the only thing you hear is silence?
Because it’s in that place, the in-between, that your faith is either formed or fractured. And it’s in that place that God prepares you for the outpouring that’s to come.
Check out Chad’s Blog Post: Learning to Listen in the Presence of the Holy Spirit
POINT 2: When Heaven Is Silent, Obedience Still Speaks
Text: Acts 1:12–14
Let’s read this powerful passage of scripture that captures the disciples’ obedience in the waiting:
“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” Acts 1:12–14 (ESV)
Jesus had just ascended into Heaven. He was no longer physically present with them. They had seen the miraculous, they had touched His resurrected body, heard Him teach, and watched Him rise into the clouds. And now, they were alone.
But what did they do next?
They obeyed.
They returned to Jerusalem, just as Jesus had instructed. They gathered in the Upper Room, the very place where they had once dined with Him. And they waited. Not passively, but prayerfully. Not scattered, but united. Not complaining, but contending.
This may be one of the most underappreciated expressions of faith in the entire Bible: doing the last thing God told you to do, even when you don’t know what’s next.
They had no idea what Pentecost would look like. They didn’t know when it would come. But they knew what Jesus said: “Stay in the city until…” So, they stayed. They waited. And they prayed.
Let’s apply this to us today: What’s the last thing God told you to do? Are you still doing it? Have you stayed where He asked you to stay? Have you held to the Word He gave you last, even if no new word has come?
Declare boldly: “Obedience is the language of faith in a silent season.”
Sometimes we want fresh revelation when what we need is faithful repetition. Keep walking in the last instruction. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep showing up.
Subpoints for clarity:
- Consistency matters. The Upper Room wasn’t a moment, it was a rhythm. A daily return. A persistent gathering. The same is true for us. Keep showing up where God told you to be.
- Community matters. They didn’t scatter into isolation. They leaned into each other. In silence and uncertainty, we need spiritual family more than ever.
- Prayer matters. They weren’t just waiting, they were praying. In the absence of answers, they chose the presence of God.
It’s easy to obey when the outcome is clear. It’s easy to follow when the path is well-lit. But genuine discipleship is revealed in the shadows, in those moments when God is silent, yet you remain faithful. Trusting God when heaven is silent is born from obedience to His word!
Encouragement: Don’t underestimate the power of staying where God told you to stay. The Spirit is drawn to places of obedience. What may seem like a holding pattern is a launchpad for the next move of God in your life.
Faith isn’t just about leaping when God speaks. It’s about lingering when He doesn’t.
Check out Chad’s Blog Post: Surrender, Not Striving: The Key To God’s Peace and Power
POINT 3: God’s Silence Does Not Mean His Absence
Texts: John 20:19–29; Psalm 27:13–14
Let’s begin by reading these two powerful passages that remind us of God’s presence even in silence:
“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.’
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.
Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:19–29 (ESV)
“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:13–14 (ESV)
Let’s lean into this truth: Just because you don’t feel God doesn’t mean He isn’t present. Just because you don’t hear God doesn’t mean He isn’t speaking. And just because you don’t see God moving doesn’t mean He’s absent.
In John 20, we find the disciples locked in a room, gripped with fear. Jesus had died. Their future was uncertain. The last time they had seen Him alive, He was hanging on a cross. And now? Silence. Grief. Fear. Confusion.
But then, Jesus came.
Right through locked doors. Right into their fear. Right into their confusion. He came and said, “Peace be with you.”
Even Thomas, who struggled to believe, was not left behind. Jesus came back for him. Eight days later, He returned just for Thomas. He didn’t shame his doubt; He spoke directly to it. He met him in his silence. In his fear. In his struggle.
This is who our God is. He is not intimidated by silence, doubt, or delay. He enters the locked rooms. He walks into our despair. And He speaks peace.
Illustration: Think of a seed planted deep in the soil. From what we can see, it seems like nothing is happening. The surface is undisturbed. But below, life is forming. Roots are growing. Transformation is taking place.
In the same way, silence is not the end of God’s work; it’s often the beginning of something unseen and deeply significant.
Encouragement: “You may be sitting in silence, but the Spirit is on the way.”
You might feel like God is a million miles away. You may have more questions than answers. But hear this clearly: God is not absent. He is working beneath the surface, aligning timing, developing character, and preparing your next step.
Anchor: Silence is not abandonment. It’s refinement.
Challenge: Don’t misinterpret God’s quietness as absence. Don’t allow temporary silence to convince you that God has forgotten you. He hasn’t. He never left. He’s nearer than you think. Trusting God when heaven is silent is believing that he never leaves or forsakes you!
Trust in His timing. Lean into His promises. Stand firm in the silence, because the Spirit is already on the move.
Check out Chad’s Blog Post: The Spirit Gives Wisdom for Everyday Decisions
POINT 4: The Silence Prepares Us for the Spirit
Text: Acts 2:1–4
Let’s read the key passage that shows us what happens after the silence, when obedience meets outpouring:
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1–4 (ESV)
This was the moment they had been waiting for, the fulfillment of the promise Jesus had given them. But notice how it came. It came after the silence. After the wait. After the prayers. The Spirit didn’t just fall on random people. He filled those who had obeyed, who had remained, who had stayed in position.
They weren’t wandering. They weren’t wavering. They were together in one place, faithful in the same room where they had been waiting day after day.
Here’s the truth: God’s power doesn’t pour out in chaos. It pours out on consecration. On readiness. On hunger.
The silence had a purpose; it refined their hearts. It united their fellowship. It deepened their longing. So when the wind came, and the fire rested, they were ready.
Illustration: Imagine a rocket sitting on a launch pad. For days, weeks, or even months, technicians run checks. They test systems. They calibrate fuel. It looks like nothing’s happening, but every quiet step prepares it for launch. When the countdown hits zero, it’s not random. It’s the culmination of silent preparation.
Encouragement: Pentecost didn’t interrupt the silence. It rewarded it by fulfilling it.
God is not ignoring your obedience. He is building something in you that can carry His Spirit with power. And when the time is right, when the day arrives, He will do more in a moment than you could imagine in a lifetime.
Key Takeaway: “What happens in you during the silence often determines what can happen through you when the Spirit moves.”
You can’t microwave a move of God. You can’t shortcut deep spiritual formation. You must wait well, in faith, in community, in prayer. Because when He moves, He moves in power. And when you’ve waited well, you’ll be ready.
Challenge: Are you creating space for the Spirit to come? Are you obedient in the silence so you’ll be responsive in the outpouring?
Let the silence do its work, because the Spirit is coming. Trusting God when heaven is silent, knowing that the Spirit will not fail us, is encouraging!
Check out Chad’s blog post: Seeking Spiritual Renewal
CONCLUSION: What Season Are You In?
Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1; Romans 8:25
Let’s read two scriptures that speak directly to the seasons of life and the call to trust while we wait:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV)
“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:25 (ESV)
Every one of us is in a season. Some of you are in a resurrection season; hope is rising again. Prayers are being answered. Joy is breaking through. You feel the nearness of God and the clarity of His direction.
Others are in a Pentecost season; God is moving. You’re sensing His Spirit, walking in His power, and stepping into fresh obedience and calling.
But many of you are in the in-between. You’re waiting, praying, and holding onto a promise you can’t yet see. You’ve felt the highs of resurrection, but you’re still waiting for the outpouring. Heaven feels quiet.
And that’s okay.
Here’s the truth: God is present in all three seasons. He’s not just the God of the mountain, He’s the God of the valley. He’s the God of the waiting room, and He’s the God of the prayer closet. He is the God of your hurting heart. He is the God over your family, over your children. Most importantly, He’s the God of silence.
Reflection Question: What season are you in today? Can you name it? Can you surrender it?
Because the same God who raised Jesus from the dead… The same God who poured out the Holy Spirit… He is the same God who holds you in this moment.
Encouragement: Don’t quit in the silence. Don’t walk away while waiting. Don’t lose heart in the holding pattern. God is faithful. His Word is true. Your Pentecost is on the way.
Declare this with me: “When Heaven is silent, my trust will speak. I will worship in the waiting. I will believe in the dark. And I will be ready when the Spirit moves.”
This is not the end. This is the preparation. So lift your eyes. Strengthen your heart. And wait for the Lord. Trusting God when heaven is silent begins with the preparation!
ALTAR MOMENT / RESPONSE TIME
This is the sacred moment to respond to what God has spoken, or what He is stirring in the silence.
Too often, we hear the Word and move on. But today is different. Today is a chance to respond, not just with understanding, but with surrender. God meets people who step out in faith, especially when they don’t have all the answers.
Why respond? Because obedience creates openness. Responding says, “Lord, even in the silence, I’m still listening. Even when I don’t feel You, I will trust You.”
Some of the deepest moves of the Spirit begin in moments when we feel the least.
Three Invitations to the Altar:
- If you’re waiting for direction, come and kneel. Lift your hands in surrender. Say, “God, I trust You even when I can’t trace You.”
- If you feel spiritually dry or forgotten, step forward. Let others pray over you. Don’t isolate in your pain. Be refreshed in His presence.
- If you’re hungry for fresh power from the Holy Spirit, come boldly. Wait on Him. Ask Him to fill you anew with His presence and purpose.
Whether you feel something or not, respond because He is worthy. Respond because trust grows in action. Respond because Pentecost comes to people who are still waiting in the Upper Room. Trusting God when heaven is silent begins with a step of faith.
Prayer:
“Lord, we come not because we feel strong, but because we trust You in our weakness. We come not because we have all the answers, but because you are the answer. Please speak to us in the silence. Strengthen us in the waiting. Fill us with Your Spirit when the time is right. We are Yours, even when Heaven is quiet.”
Closing Declaration:
“When Heaven is silent, my trust will speak. I will worship in the waiting. I will believe in the dark. And I will be ready when the Spirit moves.”
END OF MESSAGE
Seasons of silence are not signs of abandonment. Just like the disciples in Acts 1, we’re called to trust, wait, and prepare—even when it feels like Heaven has gone quiet. These moments shape us, stretch our faith, and ready us for what’s coming next. If you’re in an in-between season today, know this: God sees you, hears you, and is working even when you can’t see it. Trusting God when Heaven is silent is one of the deepest expressions of faith we can offer.
Call to Action:
Have you ever experienced a season when God felt silent? How did He meet you in the waiting? I’d love to hear your story in the comments below; it might encourage someone else who is walking through their in-between moment.
If this message spoke to you, feel free to share it with someone who needs hope in the silence. And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog for more devotionals and encouragement in your spiritual journey!
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Blessings,
Chad
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