When you are a baby Christian, God gives you a lot of
confirming emotions and often answers the most immature, self-centered prayers
so you’ll know he exists. But as you grow in faith, he will wean you of these
dependencies.
God’s omnipresence and the manifestation of his presence
are two different things. One is a fact; the other is often a feeling. God is
always present, even when you are unaware of him, and his presence is too
profound to be measured by mere emotion.
Yes, he wants you to sense his presence, but he’s more
concerned that you trust him than that you feel him. Faith, not feelings,
pleases God.
The situations that will stretch your faith most will be
those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found. This happened
to Job. On a single day he lost everything — his family, his business, his
health, and everything he owned. And then, for 37 chapters, God said nothing!
How do you praise God when you don’t understand what’s
happening in your life and God is silent? How do you stay connected in a crisis
without communication? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they’re full of
tears?
You do what Job did: “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
1:20b-21 NIV).
Tell God exactly how you feel. Pour out your heart to him.
Unload every emotion that you’re feeling. Job did this when he said, “I can’t
be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak” (Job 7:11 TEV).
He cried out when God seemed distant: “Oh, for the
days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house” (Job
29:4 NIV).
God can handle your doubt, anger, fear, grief, confusion,
and questions.
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