What Can I Do When It Feels Like God Isn’t There?Sample

Day #5 What Will You Do When God Seems Gone?

Once you begin to truly embrace the promise that God will not always seem gone, that pain will not always persist, and that the lie that it will is just that—a lie—then a few practices become sensible.

• Emotional Self-Awareness: To not be governed by our emotions when we feel like God is gone, we must develop our own ability to see those emotions. If we don’t see them, we will be governed by them.
• Work and Rest Rhythms: Find the time to sit before God—even if he doesn’t feel particularly present—and tell him your thoughts, feelings, and experiences about the season of absence you are going through.
• Prayer: Once you have taken stock of your emotions and given yourself restful space to reflect on them, speak to God. You may find that God has felt distant not because he has been absent but because you have.
• Confession: Your emotions are only good at telling you one thing: how you feel. Sometimes they can also tell you what is true but not consistently. This is part of the reason that God has given us his word. Once you have prayed about your experience, confess what God has promised.
• Spiritual Family: You are not designed to get through the darkness alone. The church is your family, and God has designed the church to be the venue for your healing and the community which hosts his presence.

In today’s passage, we end where we began, by looking at Habakkuk. Here is his response after his journey through the experience of God’s absence.

My friend, when God seems gone and life seems hard, remember that he is never gone. Joy is there to be taken, even when you feel alone. He is there, even in the darkest of times, though you feel him not.

Prayer:

Father, I thank you that, even when you seem gone, you are not. In the midst of the experience of your absence, you have promised never to forsake me. I ask that you would help me to hold onto the truth that one day I will see you face to face and sadness will disappear. Amen.

For more help on how to respond when you feel like God isn’t there, or to minister to those who are going through hard times, I’ve written a book called When God Seems Gone. I pray it will help you and those you walk alongside, to see that God is big enough and good enough to handle hard questions.