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| "I will never leave nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5b |
http://youtu.be/98nG3xH02wo - I Know You're There - Casting Crowns
There are periods of time when I don't feel God's Presence. During those times I begin to question if He loves me or if He cares for me. After all, if He loves me, why won't He show Himself to me when I desperately need to know He's there?
I'm convinced that the Enemy picks up on my periods of doubt, and being the cunning schemer he is, the Enemy begins to attack my faith. I start questioning... I focus on how alone I feel, how deserted, how empty...
But who am I going to believe? Satan - the Father of Lies? or will I believe the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe who has put Eternity in my heart? How do I trust God's love for me? I look to His promises.
To walk by faith means not trusting in my own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
My understanding may not be right:
* Scientists say earth hurls through space at great speed; to you it seems motionless.
* A doctor says a mark on your body is cancer; to you it feels harmless.
* An electrician says a wire is dangerously live; to you it looks dead.
* A mechanic says your car needs oil immediately; you don’t think it’s necessary.
* A soldier says an area is sown with land-mines; you can’t see any.
Instead of trusting in my own feelings/understanding, I can choose to believe His Promises.
* When I feel empty - Jesus says ‘if anyone loves me . . . my Father will love him and we will make our home with him’ (John 14:23)
* When I feel God doesn't care - Jesus says how often I would have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings Matthew 23:37
* When I feel God doesn't love me any more - God says nothing can separate you from the love of God Romans 8:35-39; God says Jesus was bruised and wounded for you Isaiah 53:5
* I don't understand why I have to suffer or struggle - God says be not surprised at the painful trial you are suffering 1 Peter 4:12, we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom Acts 14:22
* I feel ashamed or guilty over past sins; that God can't forgive me - God says my sins are wiped out Acts 3:9 and He will remember them no more Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 8:12
The Enemy knows that I'm susceptible to doubt. When he sees me struggling when I face difficult times or when I go through those periods of time when I just can't feel God's presence, the Enemy hits me from every angle. He knows that he only has a little time before I will remember who I am. I am a child of God and He is my Defender and Protector. He is always there - even if I don't see it. Instead of allowing myself to doubt, to keep questioning my faith and inviting spiritual attack, I can call on the Lord to deliver me. My job is to trust in His promises and not lean on my own understanding. It's walking by faith - not sight.
If I put my trust in feelings and circumstances to verify God's Presence in my life, I'm no longer walking by faith. When my "feelings/understanding" waiver, when I feel weak in my faith, that's when I can be the strongest. I remember that I am only human and my strength is weak. But the promise He gave me is when I'm weak, I can trust in Him to be my Strength.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I wonder if Paul doubted God's presence in his life when he plead for the removal of the thorn but God didn't answer his prayer - at least not the way he wanted? If I was Paul I would have thought how much more effective I could be without the problem. But instead of doubting God's love, Paul trusted Christ's strength to carry him through the tough times.
Even John the Baptist had times of doubt. Remember when he was in prison waiting to be beheaded? John had seen the Spirit of God descend on Jesus at His baptism. He had heard the Voice of God - "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." He saw and he believed. But then sitting alone in prison, knowing he was facing death, John doubted. Could he have been wrong? Maybe this wasn't the promised Messiah? After all, if Jesus was the Messiah, wouldn't He save John from prison? John sent his disciples to Jesus and asked - "are you the Messiah?" For just a moment John doubted. All the hard work he had done to prepare the way for the Messiah, and then God abandons him to be executed? That couldn't seemed very loving. But there was purpose. There had to be less of John and more of Jesus. John had fulfilled his purpose by spreading the good news of the coming Messiah.
Luke 7:20
John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”
Jesus answered by reminding John of the Promise. The Messiah would do great things. Isaiah prophesied:
Isaiah 35:3-6
There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God.
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.
Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”
And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.
The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
When John doubted, Jesus pointed him to the promise - "the blind will see, the lame will walk, the deaf will hear..."
Luke 7:22-23 NLT
Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 23 And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’”
God cannot lie and will remain true to His Word. Did He promise to love me? Did He promise to never leave nor forsake me? Did He promise to give me everything I need to get through any challenge He might purposefully allow in my life? Those are the promises that I will dwell on. I refuse to entertain any thought that contradicts His promises. If I "capture each thought and make it obedient to Christ", I am resisting the Enemy. James says when I resist the devil, guess what? the devil will flee from me! It's God's promise.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 NLT
We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 6 And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.
James 4:7-8
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
My resolve to believe God's Promises rather than trusting in my "feelings or experiences" is God's way to give me victory. It's also His way of strengthening my faith. When I stand firm even when I cannot feel His Presence, my faith gets stronger and stronger. I'm no longer relying on my feelings. I'm relying on His Promises. When I think about it, some of the strongest believers I know have endured the greatest suffering, yet they trust God and His promises - even when they can't see Him or feel His presence. They just keep trusting.
Faith – believing in the integrity of God despite what things seem – is the basis of the entire Christian life.
I don’t care how impossible things look, how many failures I have experienced, how spiritually dead I feel, how much the Lord appears to overlook me: God is still the God of the Bible. His Word affirms He is my God and He loves me, regardless of how abandoned, unloved and insignificant my wild imagination paints me as being. That makes spiritual success inevitable. All I need do is stop wallowing in doubt long enough to receive my rightful inheritance.
So often God seems to deliberately overlook me. So often the Bible seems as dry as dust. So often I feel as if I have nothing to live for. My emotional pain seems endless. God constantly seems to favor others over me. But nothing – nothing – can change the constancy of the incomprehensible enormity of God’s love. Nothing can made God break his word. -Grantley Morris - "When you can't feel God"
Holy Father, I believe! Please help my unbelief! There are too days when I don't "hear Your voice" or "feel Your Presence". Those days scare me, and I become afraid. For just a moment, I question if You really love me or care for me. But You've shown Yourself to be so faithful in my life, even when I'm not faithful. Lord God strengthen my faith; help me to resist the lies of the Enemy; draw me near to You. Father, one day in Your Presence is better than ten thousand days any where else. I long for You. I want to be sheltered under Your wing like a baby chick. I want to find little loves notes from You everywhere I go. When I do, my spirit is renewed, and I feel ready to face any challenge. But then as quickly as that feeling came, it goes away, and I'm left feeling alone again, unloved and unworthy. I know those are lies because You have promised to never leave me nor forsake me. You've promised to be my strength in times when I feel so weak and helpless. Help me to remember and trust Your Promise. I long for You and because of that longing, I know You have called me to be Yours. I am Your child and I am greatly loved - even when I might not feel it.
Thank You for loving me and for always being with me. I know Your right here and I will not listen to the Liar. Thank for sending Your precious Son to save me from the power of darkness. I rest in His love and I trust His Gift of Salvation. And it's in His Name, in His authority that I pray. Amen.
It can be so hard to believe when I just don't feel His presence. But I will not listen to the lies. I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him until that glorious Day when I will spend Eternity with Him praising my wonderful gracious Lord and Savior.
2 Timothy 1:12 NKJV
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
http://youtu.be/b61wsBdqrKM - You Never Let Go - Matt Redman
http://youtu.be/YU1rbSQT-Sw - Song of Hope - Robbie Seaay Band
http://youtu.be/MX5OqyBYKh4 - Get back up again - Toby Mac
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