Hey God! Where'd You Go?

For many years I have started my day by spending quiet time with the Lord. Sometimes those moments are amazing and sometimes, quite frankly, they aren't. But either way, when we set ourselves to seek His face, it is always time well spent. 

As Thomas Merton said, "We should not, however, judge the value of our meditation by how we feel. A hard and apparently fruitless meditation may in fact be much more valuable than one that is easy, happy, enlightened and apparently a big success."

I remember when my friend Patricia King told me of a time when the Lord warned her that she wouldn't feel His presence for a season. He encouraged her to continue doing all of the same things she had been doing, and that He would still be there, even though she wouldn't sense Him. She said that when that happened, although it was a very difficult time, it taught her a lot. Patricia learned to go to the Lord for who He is and what she could offer Him (love, devotion, adoration, etc.). Her communication with Him wasn't in response to what she felt or what He was saying, but in response to who she already knew that He was/is.

There are so many books on how to tap into God's presence, how to worship, pray, etc., but the truth is there is no sure fire method for turning off distractions and hearing. Very often entering into a place of prayer, worship, hearing, seeing, etc., comes out of a place of tension. A tension we shouldn't despise.

Sometimes His presence greets us swiftly and profoundly and other times we feel as if we are trying to run through mud. Finding Him often comes out of this place of tension; this acknowledgement that while He invites us, we still must trust Him to know what we need. Often times he is pulling us to focus more intently, pray longer, to pull ourselves out of distraction and enter by faith even when we feel nothing. We may be struck by our inability to tap in, but this tension, this plan of God to allow us to face our humanity, grows our roots stronger. Remembering that we are utterly dependent upon God's grace, keeps us humble. It brings death to pride.

If you are walking in a season like that, and feeling frustrated with the seeming silence of God, take heart! Continue loving Him regardless of what you feel or don't. Soon, you will be enjoying the change of season, where the touch of God becomes profound again. We must never grow so accustomed to His presence that we forgot that it is also a profound honor to be there with Him, even though we are His children.