14 When God Seems Distant

 

 

 

PURPOSE # 1

 

 

You Were Planned For God's Pleasure

 

 

 For God has planed them like strong

and graceful oaks for his own glory.

Isaiah 61:3

 

 

14 When God Seems Distant

 

 

The LORD has hidden himself from his people,

but I trust him and place my hope in him.

Isaiah 8:17

 

God is real, no matter how you feel.

It is easy to worship God

when things are going great in your life—

when he has provided food, friends, family, health, and happy situations.

But circumstances are not always pleasant.

How do you worship God then?

What do you do when God seems a million miles away?

 

The deepest level of worship is

praising God in spite of pain,

thanking God during a trial,

trusting him when tempted,

surrendering while suffering,

and loving him when he seems distant.

 

Friendships are often tested by separation and silence;

you are divided by physical distance or you are unable to talk.

In your friendship with God,

you won't always feel close to him.

Phillip Yancey has wisely noted,

"Any relationship involves times of closeness and times of distance,

and in a relationship with God, no matter how intimate,

the pendulum will swing from one side to the other."

That's when worship gets difficult.

 

To mature your friendship,

God will test it with periods of seeming separation—

times when it feels as if he has abandoned or forgotten you.

God feels a million miles away.

St. John of the Cross referred to these days

of spiritual dryness, doubt, and estrangement form God

as "the dark night of the soul."

Henri Nouwen called them

"the ministry of absence."

A. W. Tozer called them

"the ministry of the night."

Others refer to

"the winter of the heart."

  

Besides Jesus,

David probably had the closest friendship with God of anyone.

God took pleasure in calling him "a man after my own heart."

1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22

Yet David frequently complained of God's apparent absence:

"Lord, why are you standing aloof and far away?

Why do you hide when I need you the most."

Psalm 10:1

"Why have you forsaken me?

Why do you remain so distant?

Why do you ignore my cries for help?"

Psalm 22:1

"Why have you abandoned me?"

Psalm 13:2; see also

Psalms 44:23; 74:11; 88:14; 89:49

 

Of course, God hadn't really left David,

and he doesn't leave you.

"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 37:28; 

John 14:16-18; Hebrews 13:5

In fact,

God admits that sometimes he hides his face from us.

Isaiah 45:15

There are times when he appears to be MIA,

missing-in-action, in your life.

 

"I go east, but he is not there.

I go west, but I cannot find him.

I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.

I turn to the south, but I cannot find him.

But he knows where I am going.

And when he has tested me like gold in a fire,

he will pronounce me innocent."

Job 23:8-10

 

In fect, sin does disconnect us from intimate fellowship with God.

We grieve God's Spirit and quench our fellowship with him

by disobedience, conflict with others, busyness,

friendship with the world, and other sins.

Psalm 51; Ephesians 4:29-30;

1 Thessalomians 5:19; Jeremiah 2:32;

1 Corinthians 8:12; James 4:4

 

But often this feeling of abandonment or estrangement form God

has nothing to do with sin.

It is a test of faith—one we all must face:

Will you continue to love, trust, obey, and worship God,

even when you have no sense of his presence

or visible evidence of his work in your life?

 

The most common mistake Christians make in worship today

is seeking an experience rather than seeking God.

Faith, not feelings, pleases God.

"Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

'Naked I came from my mother's womb,

and naked I will depart.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;

may the name of the LORD be praised.'"

Job 1:20-21

 

Tell God exactly how you feel.

"I can't be quiet! I am angry and bitter.

I have to speak!"

Job 7:11

"Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,

when God's intimate friendship blessed my house."

Job 29:4

 

"I believed, so I said,

'I am completely ruined!"

Psalm 116:10

David's frankness actually reveals deep faith:

First, he believed in God.

Second, he believed God would listen to his prayer.

Third, he believed God would let him say what he felt and still love him.

 

Focus on who God is—his unchanging nature.

Remind yourself what you know to be eternally true about God:

He is good, he loves me, he is with me,

he knows what I'm going through,

he cares, and he has a good plan for my life.

V. Raymond Edman said,

"Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light."

 

When Job's life fell apart, and God was silent,

Job still found things he could praise God for:

 

 That he is good and loving.

Job 10:12

 That he is all-powerful.

Job 12:2; 37:5, 23

 That he notices every detail of my life.

Job 23:10; 31:4

 That he is in control.

Job 34:13

 That he has a plan for my life.

Job 23:14

 That he will save me.

Job 19:25

 

Trust God to keep his promises.

In the absence of confirming circumstances, Job held on to God's Word.

"I have not departed

from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth

more than my daily bread."

Job 23:12

His faith was strong in the midst of pain:

"God may kill me, but still I will trust him."

Job 13:15

When you feel abandoned by God

yet continue to trust him,

you worship him in the deepest way.

 

Remember what God has already done for you.

God's Son died for you!

This is the greatest reason for worship.

"Christ was without sin, but for our sake

God made him share our sin

 in order that in union with him

 we might share the righteousness of God."

2 Corinthians 5:21

That alone is worthy of your continual thanks and praise.

Never again should you wonder what you have to be thankful for.

 

 

 

 

DAY FOURTEEN

Thinking About My Purpose

 

Point to Ponder: God is real, no matter how I feel.

 

Verse to Remember: "For God has said,

'I will never leave you;

I will never abandon you.'"

Hebrews 13:5

 

Question to Consider; How can I stay

focused on God's presence,

especially when he feels distant?

 

 

 

p 107~113

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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