It's easy to worship when things are going great. How do you worship when your life falls apart and 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.
To mature your friendship, God will test it with periods of seeming separation. God admits that sometimes he hides his face from us.
Sin disconnects us from intimate fellowship with God. But, often this feeling of abandonment or estrangement from God has nothing to do with sin. It is a test of faith.
Seeking a feeling, even a feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship. Faith, not feelings, pleases God.
"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job
God is good, he loves me, he is with me, he knows what I'm going through, he cares, and he has a plan for my life
If God never did anything else for you, he would deserve your continual praise for the rest of your life because of what Jesus did for you on the cross.
"For God said, 'I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.'"
How can I stay focused on God's presence, especially when he feels distant?
This is a tough chapter for me. As a "baby" Christian, I feel Gods blessings all around me, but this chapter tells me that he will withdraw from me, that I won't feel his presence. In previous chapters we learned that God is our friend, but withdrawing does not seem to be the action of a friend. Sin disconnects us from God, yet sin may have nothing to do with God's absence from our lives. It's a test of faith. It's difficult for me to understand. If God withdraws from me because of my actions, I understand that and have something to work on, but if it's a test and not about sin, I'm left second guessing myself. My ideal would be to have a heart like Job; "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." I know that if the rest of my life is suffering, that God has already blessed me far more than I deserve. I only hope that when the rough spots in my life appear that I can say "Blessed be His name".
God "appears" to us to be missing at times, but he isn't really. He may have stepped back to give us a chance to mature. He may be silent, but he is still there. It's just like a baby learn to walk or a child learning to ride a bicycle. If the baby is held onto every step, he can't develop the balance or confidence needed to mature into a walker. If a child learning to ride a bike feels the assistance of the adult's hand the whole time, he won't be as willing to learn to ride on his own, and it will take longer. The adult knows when to withdraw and let the child try on his own. I think God wants us to grow and mature and sometimes that is done best by letting us experience trials - it seems like he doesn't hear our prayers. We will have spiritual "winters of the heart" but God has never left us. The times that we don't feel His presence as much can also cause us to seek Him more. That is a test of faith. God wants us to seek him continually. When God feels distant, I think memorizing scripture that tell us God is with us would be helpful during that time - "I will never leave you or forsake you." Joshua 1:5; "I will never leave you; I will never abandon you." Hebrews 13:5; If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust. Job 34:13-15
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