God, Where Are You?! With John BevereSampl

Where Are You? 

Have you ever had a time where it seemed like the Lord was so close that all you had to do was whisper His name and He was right there and answered right then?

But then the time came when you left Him one message after another, and He seemed to have totally disappeared from your life. Maybe that’s where you are now and your question, which you want to shout in the stillness, is the cry of many who find themselves in a dry and difficult place: “God, where are You?!”

I experienced my first wilderness season as a young believer while living in Dallas, Texas, during the early eighties. As I naïvely entered this barren season, I felt like I had been abandoned by God. Before this, all I had needed to do was cry out and the Lord would instantly respond. I remember Him quickly answering the most trivial of requests. His presence was so near, evident, and strong. 

Now, I just could not figure out what was happening. I was on my knees, day after day, crying out, “God, what is going on? It seems like You are a million miles away!”

During this time, I kept reviewing my life and asking, “What terrible sin have I committed?”

Well, the truth was, of course, that like every person on the planet, I periodically slipped into sin, but I also was quickly repenting and asking for the forgiveness that Jesus offers. To my knowledge, there was not some persistent, willful sin in my life.

“God, why aren’t You talking to me anymore?” I asked on one dry day after another. As the heavens felt like brass, I found myself at a critical juncture—would I give up my pursuit of God, feeling rejected or forgotten? Or would I press through the resistance with a passionate pursuit of the lover of my soul? 

I chose the latter and was not disappointed. The wilderness is where we will discover what we truly hunger for—God, or the things of this world? If we allow Him to, the wilderness is where God will strip away ungodly desires and will create in us a heart that desires Him above all else.