Waves of ideas and thoughts are running through me. Pain is a process of growing. I will overcome, no?
And hey, this post might be interesting for you. It suits you =) Yes, you!
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Day 14: When God seems distant
Life is not always pleasant. We say God is real, all the time. But sometimes, we feel His absence. What will you do, when He seems to be thousand miles away?
Praising God even during pain, thanking God even during trial, trusting God when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and loving Him when he is nowhere to be found - This is the deepest level of worship. We all know that strength of a friendship is tested through separation and silence. And yes, this is still something I'm trying to overcome - I've lost nearly all of my childhood contacts; I want to loose no more. That's why I'm learning to form strong friendship with everyone, even if it does cost me something.
But anyway, in friendship with God, you won't always feel close to him. It is during the time when you don't know where God is, when worship finds its difficulties. And this is when God test the maturity of the friendship between you and Him. You will feel as if God has walked away, abandoned, or forgotten you. "My God hides Himself from me," you might say. And there goes your winter of your heart.
From Bible we notice that David is the one who had closest relationship with God, besides Jesus of course. God called him "a man after my own heart" (1. Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). But still, David faced situations when God seemed to be turning away from him:
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?
Psalm 10:1
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
Psalm 22:1-2
Of course, we know God did not really left David, and yes! He does not leave you alone too!
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8
Did God promised that "you will always feel My presence"? No. He did not. And this is the time when you will get worried and finally shout "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH ME?" But don't go crazy, because there's is nothing wrong with you! In fact, when you facing this problem, we all should congratulate you! Well done! You have entered another higher level of testing and maturing your friendship with God. Sometimes I feel envy of other older brothers and sisters because they have gone through this at least once but I have not. They are all already at higher level of test by God. Yes, I'm talking about you. You all. I'm still little baby~
Every Christian goes through it at least once, and usually several times.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life
One day, I will sit this examination paper. It is painful and disconcerting, but I know it is vital for my faith development. I will be ready for it.
When God seems
It is just a test of faith from God. Will we 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?
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life
Remember, we are not seeking experience with God - We are seeking God. God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them. Remember, seeking a feeling, even the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship.
For a baby Christian like me, He gives me a lot of confirming emotions and other experiences, so that I will know He exists. But as I grow, I found that He starts to remove all these dependencies from me. I start to feel hardness of a Christianity life, temptations, demotivations... I really start to feel them. But I guess God knows I'm weak. That's why He only removes some strong elements from me. But at the same time, He put in other side-thrusts for me. So you know, each of your words, scoldings, praises, are a motivation for me. But yes I know, I know my current purpose - Worship Him continually, and live it to be a lifestyle. What about you?
God wants us to sense His presence, but He concerns more about your trust than feeling.
Faith, not feelings, pleases God.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life
Situation is tough when you face tough problems but God seems to be gone. How do you praise God when He keeps silent when you are facing storms in life? How can you follow Jesus Christ when your eyes are full of hopeless-feeling tears?
1. Tell God exactly how you feel. Confess to God every single emotion that you feel, including when you feel helpless and hopeless. Did you know that declaring your hopelessness to God can be a kind of statement that you have faith in God? David said:
I believed; believed even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
Psalm 116:10
In other words, "I trust God, but I'm wiped out." But here it showed the deep faith David have in God:
a) He believed in God
b) He believed God would listen to his prayer
c) He believed God would let him say what he felt and still love him
2. Focus on who God is - His unchanging nature. Remind yourself what you know about your God - His eternal character. God is good, God loves me, He is with me, He knows what I'm going through...
Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.
V. Raymond Edman
3. Trust God to keep His promises. In other words, being patient about His promises. He has great plans for us. And you don't need to be so emotional. Realize that He is taking you to a deeper level of maturity.
A friendship based on emotion is shallow indeed.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life
Nothing can change the character of God. So don't you trouble yourself by trouble. Job said:
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
When you feel abandoned by God yet continue to trust Him in spite of your feelings, you worship Him in the deepest way.
Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life
4. Remember what God has already done for you. The one thing that we all should know: God's Son died for us! Still need any other reason for worshiping Him? And that is not all! How was Jesus' death? He was stripped naked, beaten until nearly unrecognizable, whipped, scorned, mocked, spit, crowned with thorns... And after that, with merely droplets of blood, He was forced to carry cross up hill, and was left to die the slow, excruciating torture of death through cruxification. While He was forced toward death, insults were thrown at Him. He was treated far worse than animal.
"My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" He cried. He could have just use His power and save himself, come down from the cross as the religious priests provoked Him to do so. But then, we could not have been saved. Why was He still went throuhg all of these?
So you could be spare from eternity in hell, so you could share in His glory forever!
God made Him who had no sin to be a sin offering for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
2. Corinthians 5:21
Jesus gave up His everything so that we could have everything. He died, but we could live forever. Is that not worthy for our praises and thankfulness?
Vincent
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