When God Feels Far Away
A mother sits with her dying daughter and wonders if God really knows her pain and suffering. A young man loses a job for which he worked so hard. Why did God let that happen?
Let’s face it friends – I could give you example after example of times when we wonder where God is at the moment. Sometimes it feels like we are in a canoe, frantically paddling trying to catch up to where we perceive God is at. When life hurts, it is easy to feel that our Heavenly Father has abandoned us.
When life throws us curve balls and things don’t turn out the way we think they should, God’s Word recorded in Zephaniah is helpful:
“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17 ESV)
Scripture makes it very clear that our Heavenly Father is not sitting on His throne as some kind of remote monarch who cares little about his subjects. God is right here, right now. He is at the heart of everything in our lives.
Yes, He is there when a loved one dies. He is there when there are injury, divorce, and loss. He is there when sadness overtakes us.
More than just His presence, God brings His mighty power into our lives as well. This is no small thing.
Consider what Paul tells us in Ephesians:
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20 ESV)
God can do more than we can ever imagine. The scope of His ability to intervene in our lives for our good is massive. He goes above and beyond what we ask for as He ultimately knows what is most needful.
One of the greatest tricks of the devil is to make us think that God doesn’t care what is happening to us. That lie needs to be stopped in its tracks. This deviousness can hurt us immensely if we buy into the devil’s lie that God will not be there to care for us.
Think of this – God REJOICES over us. This is not conditional on what we do or don’t do. It is a given fact no matter what lousy decisions we make, the hurts we inflict on ourselves and others, or our reluctance to listen to Him. We may feel unlovable or unworthy, but God never thinks so.
As I sat holding my newest grandchild yesterday, she was all smiles. Her little coos melt my heart. I find it amazing how I am filled with immense love for this little person already. Even greater is how our Heavenly Father loves each of us. Like I cuddle and rock my granddaughter when she is fussy, so our loving God brings soothing to our troubled spirits.
God holds us and loves us with an immense love that is beyond measure. He doesn’t pay attention just when it is convenient for Him, like many people do in our lives. God has got us – every minute, every hour. He is there protecting us as a Mighty Warrier, loving us, and providing for us with what He knows is best.
In those moments of uncertainty, insecurity, pain, or trouble, don’t feel you have to manage alone. God is there, right in your midst. He is reaching out to you with His amazing love, power, and mercy – always.
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