Yesterday I addressed how it feels when you think God doesn't see you or hear you. Today I want to focus on how we think and feel when it seems as if we can't see or hear God. I'm talking about the "hiddenness" of God; but not from the aspect of nonbelievers, who will say, if God existed, then God would make His existence more obvious. God is not obvious. Therefore, God does not exist.
This is not about God deliberately hiding His presence. It's about those times in our lives when we, who have been in real relationship with Him, can't find Him or hear His voice. It's about those crises of faith that have us asking why He has seemingly abandoned us, or is at least choosing to not communicate with us.
If you have been one who has enjoyed an easy and intimate relationship with God -- received answers to your prayers, and seen evidence of His presence during times of trouble -- then the notable lack of His appearance becomes cause for concern. And if you have advanced to a level of relationship where your spirit can approach His throne room and ask for heavenly power and a call to action -- and then He seems to be absent or silent, it can begin to raise doubts in our spirit. And if the problem persists, then it can lead to a crisis of faith; or worse, sometimes a collapse of trust in God.
But if you have experienced an intimate relationship with God in the past, and are now facing a "dry spell" in that partnership, you must not forget that He is the Unchangeable and Ever-Present God. Perhaps He is preparing to do a work in your life and is waiting to see the level of commitment you have to Him. Maybe He is waiting to see if you are willing to press into Him when the going gets rough and His presence isn't easily discerned. And just maybe there are places He wants to take you, but you have to be willing to walk by faith, not by sight.
That is a time-worn motto of the Church ... we walk by faith, not by sight. But if you are a Christian who has developed a spiritual relationship with God (communing with Him in the spirit and being accustomed to His presence), then the absence of that intimacy might really challenge your faith walk. But that is the time to "press into God".
What do I mean by that? It means to seek God and to keep on seeking Him, even when you have no clear evidence that He is there. It means to seek to know Him and His righteousness when your world is falling down around you. It means surrendering yourself and your life to Him because you have nowhere else (and no one) to turn to. And it means trusting that He is there, waiting on you to take a step towards Him, instead of sitting back and expecting Him to come to you.
I have a very dear friend who is pressing into new depths in her relationship with God. She has met Jesus in her spirit and He has shown her how much He values her and what is possible when she decides to move towards Him. She has been through some devastating trials in her life, and has just recently learned to seek Jesus in the spirit and press into Him. While He has healed her emotional and spiritual wounds, and is helping her to deal with changes in her life, He is also showing her that her future depends on her making the next move. He is not there to orchestrate her every step, but is waiting for her to put her faith into action to receive the future He has planned for her. She doesn't know what that might be, but because she has pressed into Him, even when He doesn't seem to be present, she is excited about stepping out in faith. The unknown future no longer scares her because she knows He has something spectacular to give her; something He has been preparing for her since He knit her in the womb. And because she has walked by faith, and not by sight -- and because she has pushed through her trials to be in the very presence of God -- she is excited to receive her inheritance as the daughter of the King!
Unfortunately, an experience she had with trying to go through the Church to help her deal with her personal trauma and ordeals was met with a legalistic attitude. She tried to share what God was showing her and the new depths she was reaching with Him, but they wanted to shove her, and God, into a traditional and Pharisaical box. They wanted her to observe the strict external form of religion without regard to the spirit. As she sat in dismay, her dejected spirit saw angelic soldiers in full spiritual armor shaking their heads in consternation, and she left the Church in tears. I can only imagine how that grieved God's Holy Spirit.
But she is determined to seek God on her own and press into Him, despite the Church. And she is enthusiastic about what God has in store for her. Her greatest joy is found in spending time in God’s presence and contending with God’s Spirit for more of Him. She is learning to love the time she spends with Him, and it is preparing her for any future "dry spells" that are sure to come her way. She has stepped outside the comfort zone of conventional religion and has turned a life that looks destroyed [from the outside] into a spiritual relationship worth celebrating! Jesus was her last resort, and she didn't let the fact that she couldn't see Him or hear Him [in the wreckage of her life] stop her from reaching out for Him. She accepted His invitation for healing, let Him validate and strengthen her, and is now ready to trust in the authority and power He has given her to walk out her faith.
Don't get caught up in the Enemy's lie that you need Jesus to hold your hand every minute of every day. Don't buy into the deception that you're incapable of defeating the devil on your own. You have been given the very power that God gave Jesus. His presence is in you and you can have the confidence that you will be a Victor, just as He was. So, if you happen to be in a spiritual desert at the moment, and you can't hear or see God, then wait for Him; pressing into Him and pushing through to a relationship that I promise you will be supernatural and rewarding!
Psalm 2:1-5 "My son, if you will receive My words
and treasure My commandments within you, so that your ear is attentive to [skillful and Godly] wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly]; yes, if you cry out for insight, and lift up your voice for understanding; if you seek skillful and Godly wisdom as you would silver and search for her as you would hidden treasures; then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] and discover the knowledge of God."
Can you elaborate on the strict form of Pharisaical rules or box they insisted on? Men's traditions have no place in the body.
ReplyDeleteSteve
This is, sadly, a case of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse in a marriage. The wife was able to go into the spirit and let Jesus counsel her and show her that the abuse had kept her in spiritual bondage. The Lord was able to tell her that the lies she heard that told her it was her disloyalty to her husband, and her disrespect to him that justified the abuse, were just that --- LIES! Instead, the pastor counseled her to read Ephesians 5 about how to be a submissive wife, and that "wives should be subject to their husbands in everything". He did not want to address her supernatural avenue to Jesus, nor anything that pointed to a spiritual relationship. It was a case of his picture of God being narrower than hers, and using the Bible to exclude the supernatural abilities of Jesus to heal her. That's being a Pharisee.
Deletecould you elaborate on what engaging God in the spirt looks like or how I would know If That was something I could do? Im interested in experiencing God in the spirit but not really sure how to go about it.
ReplyDeleteYou've asked a very complicated and deep question which I cannot answer in a sentence or two, but on a very beginner level, here is what I would recommend: 1) Really examine your belief system... Do you think it is even possible for you to engage with God in the spirit? If you have a preconceived belief that it cannot happen, God is not going to interfere with you free will decision and engage with you. 2) If you are open to the possibility that the God of the universe wants a very real and intimate relationship with you, then you more than likely can comprehend that communication with our spirits is a likely part of that relationship. 3) 3) If so, then begin to spend time with God ... get in a quiet place, "Be still and know that He is God". Tell Him that you want to begin hearing from Him and developing a spiritual relationship with Him. Keep asking Him for that, because He decides when it will happen. So don't get discouraged when it doesn't happen automatically or quickly. 4) Be open to how He communicates ... it might be through a dream, through physical sensations (like a shiver down your back), through a thought that pops into your mind. (But you must always use your discernment to determine that it is the Most High God you are hearing from. REMEMBER: the Enemy is always waiting to fool you, but if you have the Holy Spirit in your heart, you will know God's voice when you hear it). 5) And once you begin hearing from Him, keep asking for more of Him. Your imagination can be a powerful tool for hearing from Him, as well. It's not as difficult, or lofty, as it might seem... it's really a matter of desiring to connect our spirit with His, and asking for that intimacy. Thanks for asking the question that I'm sure so many wanted to, and I will be writing more about this in the coming weeks.
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