5 Minutes with Jesus is a daily devotional series for people in the midst of real life, whether facing anxiety, grief, questions of purpose, or simply needing encouragement and connection. Hosted by Sheila Walsh, each five-minute episode offers Biblical truth, honest reflections on faith and emotions, and closes with a moment of prayer.
Closed captions
Show Timecode
| Sheila Walsh: Why Can't I Hear God's Voice | 5 Minutes with Jesus | April 21, 2026
- By faith, we can affirm god's loving presence
- 00:00:00.979 --> 00:00:04.216
- Even when he seems silent and we feel deserted.
- 00:00:04.216 --> 00:00:09.621
- He reminds us of that verse from james chapter four
- 00:00:09.621 --> 00:00:13.292
- Verse eight, where it says, draw near to god,
- 00:00:13.292 --> 00:00:18.197
- And he will draw near to you.
- 00:00:18.197 --> 00:00:21.500
- That's a promise.
- 00:00:21.934 --> 00:00:23.102
- And god does not break his promises.
- 00:00:23.102 --> 00:00:29.942
- Have you ever felt
- 00:00:30.375 --> 00:00:31.877
- That you're in a place where god is just silent?
- 00:00:31.877 --> 00:00:35.380
- You know, you speak.
- 00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:36.849
- You pray, you cry out,
- 00:00:36.849 --> 00:00:39.618
- And yet you hear nothing.
- 00:00:39.618 --> 00:00:43.088
- As through the centuries, many have referred to that
- 00:00:43.088 --> 00:00:45.958
- As the dark night of the soul.
- 00:00:45.958 --> 00:00:49.828
- I remember so clearly my own dark night of the soul,
- 00:00:49.828 --> 00:00:53.432
- When i was almost immobilized by depression,
- 00:00:53.432 --> 00:00:57.302
- So hard to pray and to read god's word.
- 00:00:57.302 --> 00:01:00.906
- It's hard to say this now, but
- 00:01:00.906 --> 00:01:03.075
- I honestly felt like giving up on life itself.
- 00:01:03.075 --> 00:01:06.411
- It felt too hard and had gone on for too long.
- 00:01:06.411 --> 00:01:10.149
- Have you ever been there?
- 00:01:10.716 --> 00:01:12.851
- I remember one night late into the night i turned my phone on.
- 00:01:12.851 --> 00:01:16.855
- Honestly,
- 00:01:16.855 --> 00:01:18.056
- Just looking for anything to distract me for what came up.
- 00:01:18.056 --> 00:01:21.293
- Touched me more than i can say.
- 00:01:21.293 --> 00:01:24.129
- The song was called the silence of god by andrew peterson.
- 00:01:24.129 --> 00:01:29.601
- These are the lyrics to the first verse.
- 00:01:29.601 --> 00:01:33.005
- It's enough to drive a man crazy.
- 00:01:33.005 --> 00:01:35.941
- It'll break a man's face.
- 00:01:35.941 --> 00:01:38.310
- It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane.
- 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:42.014
- When he's bleating for comfort.
- 00:01:42.681 --> 00:01:44.816
- From thy staff and thy rod.
- 00:01:44.816 --> 00:01:47.586
- And the heaven's only answer
- 00:01:47.586 --> 00:01:50.189
- Is the silence of god.
- 00:01:50.189 --> 00:01:52.691
- Powerful words in sinclair ferguson's book deserted by god.
- 00:01:52.691 --> 00:01:57.629
- He discusses
- 00:01:57.629 --> 00:01:58.830
- What our christian forefathers described as that feeling.
- 00:01:58.830 --> 00:02:02.067
- They called it spiritual desertion,
- 00:02:02.067 --> 00:02:05.370
- The sense that god has forgotten us, leaving us feeling
- 00:02:05.370 --> 00:02:08.740
- All alone and directionless.
- 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:11.843
- But he goes on to write that by faith
- 00:02:11.843 --> 00:02:14.479
- We can affirm god's loving presence
- 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:16.582
- Even when he seems silent and we feel deserted.
- 00:02:16.582 --> 00:02:21.987
- He reminds us of that verse from james chapter
- 00:02:21.987 --> 00:02:25.157
- Four, verse eight, where it says, draw near to god,
- 00:02:25.157 --> 00:02:30.562
- And he will draw near to you.
- 00:02:30.562 --> 00:02:33.865
- That's a promise.
- 00:02:34.299 --> 00:02:35.467
- And god does not break his promises.
- 00:02:35.467 --> 00:02:38.270
- So what do we do in those times?
- 00:02:38.270 --> 00:02:40.939
- What can help us?
- 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:42.140
- So here are just a few things that help me during dark,
- 00:02:42.140 --> 00:02:46.211
- Uncertain days. number one.
- 00:02:46.211 --> 00:02:49.281
- Be honest in prayer.
- 00:02:49.281 --> 00:02:51.984
- The temptation is to stop praying.
- 00:02:51.984 --> 00:02:54.519
- But don't stop.
- 00:02:54.920 --> 00:02:56.488
- Tell god the whole truth.
- 00:02:56.488 --> 00:02:58.257
- Tell him that he feels distant.
- 00:02:58.257 --> 00:03:00.225
- Ask him all the hard questions.
- 00:03:00.225 --> 00:03:03.462
- Number two.
- 00:03:03.462 --> 00:03:05.230
- Trust his promises more than your feelings.
- 00:03:05.230 --> 00:03:09.468
- And hebrews 13, verses five and six, we read.
- 00:03:09.468 --> 00:03:12.738
- I will never fail you.
- 00:03:12.738 --> 00:03:14.906
- I will never abandon you.
- 00:03:14.906 --> 00:03:17.576
- So we can say with confidence, the lord is my helper.
- 00:03:17.576 --> 00:03:21.713
- So i will have no fear.
- 00:03:21.713 --> 00:03:24.216
- It's actually amazing the way that text is written
- 00:03:24.216 --> 00:03:26.718
- In the original greek language.
- 00:03:26.718 --> 00:03:29.054
- The writer wanted
- 00:03:29.054 --> 00:03:30.122
- To make a strong statement as you possibly could.
- 00:03:30.122 --> 00:03:33.925
- So it reads like i will never, never not fail you,
- 00:03:33.925 --> 00:03:38.030
- Nor will i never not abandon you
- 00:03:38.030 --> 00:03:40.932
- As a promise.
- 00:03:40.932 --> 00:03:46.204
- Now, i know that sounds easy to say,
- 00:03:46.972 --> 00:03:49.241
- But it's something i've learned to do.
- 00:03:49.241 --> 00:03:52.110
- If it doesn't make sense.
- 00:03:52.110 --> 00:03:53.779
- No, it's not over.
- 00:03:53.779 --> 00:03:56.682
- God is still writing your story.
- 00:03:56.682 --> 00:03:59.951
- Number four.
- 00:04:00.252 --> 00:04:01.720
- Remember his goodness and faithfulness in the past.
- 00:04:01.720 --> 00:04:05.891
- Revisit the places that once felt empty and silent.
- 00:04:05.891 --> 00:04:09.695
- And yet how now, in retrospect, you can see how god was moving.
- 00:04:09.695 --> 00:04:15.534
- Number five.
- 00:04:15.834 --> 00:04:17.369
- Listen to the word of god.
- 00:04:17.369 --> 00:04:19.137
- There are so many great apps now
- 00:04:19.137 --> 00:04:20.706
- Where you can have the word of god read to you.
- 00:04:20.706 --> 00:04:23.675
- I often do that in the car and it's wonderful
- 00:04:23.675 --> 00:04:26.578
- To have the word of god read over you.
- 00:04:26.578 --> 00:04:30.182
- I love the story of something
- 00:04:30.182 --> 00:04:31.383
- That happened between martin luther, that great reformer
- 00:04:31.383 --> 00:04:34.619
- Of the 16th century, and his wife catherine.
- 00:04:34.619 --> 00:04:38.557
- Martin luther generally was a very cheery man,
- 00:04:38.557 --> 00:04:41.727
- But at one time he was so depressed that
- 00:04:41.727 --> 00:04:44.429
- His friends recommended him to go away for a change of air,
- 00:04:44.429 --> 00:04:47.699
- Hoping it would help him.
- 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:49.368
- So he went away.
- 00:04:49.368 --> 00:04:50.802
- But he came home just as miserable as ever,
- 00:04:50.802 --> 00:04:53.605
- And when he went into the sitting room,
- 00:04:53.605 --> 00:04:55.440
- His wise wife was sitting there, dressed all in black,
- 00:04:55.440 --> 00:04:59.544
- And her children around her all in black.
- 00:04:59.544 --> 00:05:03.181
- Oh, no, said luther, who died.
- 00:05:03.181 --> 00:05:06.451
- Why, she said, doctor, have you not heard that god is dead?
- 00:05:06.451 --> 00:05:10.255
- My husband, martin
- 00:05:10.255 --> 00:05:11.289
- Luther, would never be in such a state of mind
- 00:05:11.289 --> 00:05:14.393
- If he had a living god to trust, to,
- 00:05:14.393 --> 00:05:17.629
- Then says that martin luther burst
- 00:05:18.363 --> 00:05:20.232
- Into hearty laugh and said, kate, you're a wise woman.
- 00:05:20.232 --> 00:05:23.769
- I've been acting as if god were dead,
- 00:05:23.769 --> 00:05:26.371
- And i will do so no more.
- 00:05:26.371 --> 00:05:29.007
- Go and take off your black.
- 00:05:29.007 --> 00:05:31.676
- God is not dead.
- 00:05:31.676 --> 00:05:33.211
- He is alive.
- 00:05:33.211 --> 00:05:34.713
- Christ is risen!
- 00:05:34.713 --> 00:05:36.581
- He is our hope.
- 00:05:36.581 --> 00:05:38.550
- Let's pray.
- 00:05:38.550 --> 00:05:41.052
- Lord, i love that hope has a name.
- 00:05:41.052 --> 00:05:44.289
- And your name is jesus.
- 00:05:44.289 --> 00:05:47.492
- I love, lord that you never expect us to pretend
- 00:05:47.492 --> 00:05:50.328
- Things are not difficult,
- 00:05:50.328 --> 00:05:52.063
- But that you have promised to speak to us in so many ways.
- 00:05:52.063 --> 00:05:56.201
- I think of the number of times in the old testament
- 00:05:56.201 --> 00:05:59.070
- When we read the words remember, remember, remember.
- 00:05:59.070 --> 00:06:03.442
- So if anyone is struggling right now, lord, in a painful place.
- 00:06:03.442 --> 00:06:07.345
- Help them to remember a place where in the past
- 00:06:07.345 --> 00:06:10.982
- It felt that way.
- 00:06:10.982 --> 00:06:12.317
- And yet now they can see.
- 00:06:12.317 --> 00:06:13.785
- You were right there with them.
- 00:06:13.785 --> 00:06:15.887
- And i ask it in the powerful name of jesus.
- 00:06:15.887 --> 00:06:19.591
- Amen.
- 00:06:19.825 --> 00:06:19.825
