When God Seems Far Away

Why, O Lord, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 10:1

God is inscrutable, unfathomable. In His mysterious ways He at times leads us or allows us to experience great times of darkness – sickness, disease, loss of some kind – sometimes of our own doing, other times having no responsibility for the loss. If the pain is not self-induced, out of our control, at times it feels like He doesn’t care, He’s indifferent. “Where are you God?”
These events in our lives have a particular objective to perform for us. That objective is to bring us to the end of ourselves that we might discover the treasure of darkness. When we are taken into these dark periods, we begin to see light that we never knew existed. Our sensitivities become heightened and our ability to see through spiritual eyes is illuminated. Unless we are taken into these times, our souls never develop any depth of character. We do not gain wisdom, only knowledge. Knowledge is gained through understanding; wisdom is gained through the experience of darkness.

After we go through these periods, we discover that God was, in fact, with us throughout the entire time. It does not feel or appear that He is there when we are in the midst of the dark periods. However, He is there walking with us. He has told us countless times that He will never leave us. However, when we are in those dark periods, it does not feel like He is there because He does not rescue us from the circumstances. He does this for our benefit in order that we might become more like Jesus. Jesus learned obedience from the things He suffered (see Heb. 5:8). What does that say about how you and I will learn obedience? Embrace the dark times and gain the wisdom that God intends for you from these times.
(adapted from Os Hillman)