NOTHING IS WASTED-Conversation Three: When Heaven Is Silent

Welcome to Pomoja Podcast, a ministry of Life

of Christ International Ministries, where we

build stronger lives, deeper faith, and Christ

-centered homes through biblical teaching, practical

wisdom, and life -changing conversations. I'm

your host, Barry Mwamba. Today, we continue our

conversation about one of the most beautiful

truths found throughout the Scriptures, the providence

of God, His invisible hand quietly directing

history, while ordinary people simply believe

they're living another ordinary day. So far,

We've discovered that God works through betrayal.

Joseph. We've discovered that God works through

waiting. Moses. We've discovered that God often

hides great assignments inside ordinary responsibilities.

David. We've discovered that sometimes our calling

begins with a burden. Nehemiah. Today, I want

to take you even deeper because there are moments

in life when it feels as though heaven has gone

silent. No answers. No miracles. No open doors.

No explanation. Just silence. What do you do

when God seems silent? There is one book in the

Bible that has always fascinated me, the book

of Esther. Do you know what's remarkable about

it? God's name never appears. Not once. No miracle.

No prophet. No burning bush. No angel. No audible

voice. Nothing. If someone were reading the story

quickly, they might conclude that God is absent.

But the more carefully you read, the more you

realize He is everywhere. You just have to learn.

to recognize his fingerprints. Think about it.

A Jewish orphan is raised by her cousin Mordecai.

She becomes queen. Not because she planned it.

Not because she campaigned for it. Not because

she dreamed of becoming queen. She simply found

herself where Providence had placed her. Then,

a wicked man named Haman develops a plan to destroy

every Jew. Suddenly, everything that once seemed

disconnected begins coming together. The orphan.

The palace. The crown. Mordecai. The king. Every

chapter had been preparing for one moment. Then

Mordecai says words that echo through history.

Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom

for such a time as this? I love that verse because

it reminds me that purpose is often discovered

looking backward more than looking forward. Esther

didn't know why life had unfolded the way it

had until the moment arrived. Perhaps someone

listening today is asking, Lord, why am I here?

Why this job? Why this city? Why this season?

Can I encourage you? Don't judge your story before

God finishes writing it. Then there is Ruth,

another ordinary woman, another ordinary day,

another ordinary decision. She wakes up simply

looking for food. The Bible says she happened

to come to the part of the field belonging to

Boaz. She happened? Really? From our perspective,

perhaps. From heaven's perspective, absolutely

not. She wasn't looking for Boaz. She was looking

for grain. God was doing both. She saw food.

God saw a future husband. She saw survival. God

saw the lineage through which King David and

eventually Jesus Christ would come into the world.

Think about that. While Ruth was gathering grain,

God was writing redemption history. That is providence.

How many moments in our own lives feel completely

ordinary while heaven is accomplishing something

extraordinary? One phone call, one interview,

one invitation, one delay, one unexpected friendship.

One conversation. Years later, you look back

and realize that moment changed everything. I've

come to believe something. God rarely wastes

introductions. The people He allows into your

life, the doors He opens, the doors He closes,

the burdens He gives you, the opportunities He

places before you, they are often connected long

before you understand how. We usually understand

providence looking backward, rarely while living

it. There is something else I want you to notice.

Esther never received a burning bush. Ruth never

received an angel. Nehemiah never witnessed fire

falling from heaven. Yet every one of them walked

in God's will. Why? Because God is not limited

to spectacular moments. Sometimes He leads through

scripture. Sometimes through prayer. Sometimes

through wisdom. Sometimes through conviction.

Sometimes through a burden that refuses to leave

your heart. Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice.

Most believers will never hear an audible voice

from heaven, but every believer who remains close

to the shepherd can learn to recognize his leading.

The more time you spend in God's Word, the more

familiar his heart becomes. The more time you

spend in prayer, the more sensitive your spirit

becomes. The more you pursue holiness, the easier

it becomes to recognize the direction of the

Holy Spirit. You may not always hear thunder,

but you will learn to recognize the shepherd.

Let's talk about two more women who experienced

exceptionally God's providence. The first one

is Rahab. Rahab's life story is one of those

stories almost nobody would expect God to use.

When we first meet Rahab, she isn't living the

kind of life anyone would admire. Jericho is

under judgment. Israel is approaching. Everything

around her is about to collapse. Then two spies

arrive at her house. Was that coincidence? Out

of all the homes in Jericho, Why hers? Because

Providence had already gone before them. Rahab

made one decision. She chose faith. She believed

in the God of Israel before she had ever seen

the Red Sea, before she had crossed the Jordan,

before she had witnessed a miracle herself. She

believed simply because she recognized that the

hand of God was moving. She hid the spies, hung

a scarlet cord from her window. When the walls

of Jericho fell, One house remained standing.

Think about that. The entire city collapsed.

One family was preserved. Not because Rahab had

a perfect past, but because God had already written

a future greater than her past. Then something

remarkable happened. Rahab didn't simply survive.

She became part of Israel. She married. She became

the mother of Boaz. The same Boaz who would one

day marry Ruth. And generations later, her name

appears. in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Who

could have imagined that? A woman from Jericho

becoming part of the family line of the Messiah.

Tell me, was that coincidence? No, that is providence.

God specializes in rewriting stories. Then there

is Hannah. Her story begins not with victory,

but with tears. Year after year, she prayed.

Year after year, she waited. Year after year,

She watched someone else receive what she longed

for. Have you ever prayed and wondered if heaven

was listening? Hannah knew that feeling. She

didn't stop praying. She didn't stop worshiping.

She kept bringing her pain into the presence

of God. Then one day, God answered. Not simply

because Hannah wanted a child, but because heaven

was preparing a prophet. Samuel wasn't only an

answer to Hannah's prayer. Hannah was God's answer

to Israel. Think about that. While Hannah thought

God was delaying her blessing, God was preparing

a leader who would anoint kings, guide a nation,

and change Israel's history. Sometimes our prayers

are connected to purposes much bigger than ourselves.

We ask God for one thing. He sees generations.

We see today's pain. He sees tomorrow's harvest.

That is Providence. When I look across the scriptures,

I no longer see isolated stories. I see one author,

one hand, one purpose. Joseph, Moses, David,

Nehemiah, Esther, Ruth, Rahab, Hannah. Different

people, different generations, different circumstances,

yet one invisible hand guiding them all. The

same God who quietly guided them is quietly guiding

you. Perhaps that's the greatest miracle of all.

Not that God speaks loudly. but that he walks

closely. Not that he explains everything, but

that he never leaves. His presence is often greater

than his explanations, because explanations answer

questions. His presence gives peace. Before we

close, I want to leave you with this thought.

Maybe today, your life feels like Esther's. You

know God has placed you somewhere, but you still

don't understand why. Perhaps you're asking,

Lord, what is my purpose in this season? Or perhaps,

Your life feels like Ruth's. You're simply trying

to be faithful, putting one foot in front of

the other, doing ordinary things, not realizing

that heaven is quietly writing an extraordinary

story. Maybe you feel like Rahab. When you look

at your past, you wonder whether God could ever

use someone like you. You see your failures.

God sees your future. You remember where you've

been. God is already preparing where he's taking

you. The God of Providence. specializes in rewriting

stories. And maybe your heart feels like Hannah's.

You've prayed. You've waited. You've cried. You've

watched others receive what you've been asking

God for. You wonder if heaven has forgotten your

name. But Hannah reminds us that God's delays

are not God's denials. Sometimes, while we're

praying for a blessing, God is preparing a purpose

far greater than we can imagine. Can I remind

you that God's silence has never meant God's

absence? Just because you cannot see his hand

doesn't mean he has stopped writing your story.

The author never loses the plot. And if you belong

to Christ, your life is not a collection of random

events. It is a story being written by the faithful

hand of a sovereign God. Next time, we'll discover

perhaps the greatest demonstration of God's providence

ever revealed. We'll follow Paul through prisons,

shipwrecks, and trials. Then we'll stand at Calvary

where what appeared to be history's greatest

tragedy became heaven's greatest victory. Because

if God can transform a cross into salvation,

imagine what he can do with your story. Until

next time, keep trusting him. Keep walking by

faith. And remember, God is still working, even

when heaven seems silent. He is preparing while

you are waiting. He is leading while you are

wondering. And one day, you'll discover that

nothing in the hands of God was ever wasted.

Together in faith, together in Christ.