When You Feel Like God Is Not With You

I received a letter a short while ago from a lady who was worried that God might have departed from her. She was not hearing from Him.

She said: “I have not felt in God’s will [recently]... it was so very wonderful last year when I first went to [name of place]. I knew I was in God’s will and I felt His Spirit and heard from Him on a regular basis, and it was wonderful. Being led by His Spirit was the best! The quandary I find myself in now, and am being tortured back and forth by, is I don’t know whether I am still supposed to go to Xxxxx. Since the two purposes I had for going no longer exist, I am not sure what I am supposed to do...”

Since it is not an uncommon experience for believers to have ‘valleys’ in their spiritual walk, I include my reply here, so that it can benefit others in similar situations.

Don’t be alarmed. You can’t always have the exhilaration of walking on the mountain tops!

Reply:

Don't worry about thinking you might be out of God's will just because you don't 'feel' His closeness. Our spiritual walk is not experience- based. It's based on faith. And faith is not dependent upon feelings.

In fact, God has to take His children down such a route. He gives them comfort first (like babies and small children need), and then tests their faith by seeming to disappear (the stages in adolescence and growing to adulthood). But He hasn't disappeared. He's just stepped into a less obvious 'place', so that we are not so aware of Him. He has to do this. It's part of the maturing process. It's essential to becoming fully independent beings like He is, with unwavering moral responsibility like He has.

Benny Hinn had a tremendous encounter with God during His calling for ministry. He felt God so close. He had a terrific emotional high, because of the way Jesus was manifesting Himself to him as holy Spirit. He was so caught up into God's presence, as if he felt God's arms wrapped around him, and the love of God totally surrounding and energising him. Then, the Spirit moved away, and Benny called out to the Holy Spirit. "Don't go! Please, don't go!" But God replied, "I must", and then explained why. (I would have to find the exact words from his book about the experience, but that is the essence of what was said if not the exact words.)

But God did say that, although Benny would not 'feel' His closeness, He would still be there. And so it is with you, and us. God is aware. Jesus is there.... here. He can't be anywhere else.

We are His beloved, and He so earnestly wants to be with His beloved. But if He were to make Himself felt to us continually, we'd get nothing done. We wouldn't work, or do anything constructive.

All we need to do is continue on like Jesus set us the example. He said, "My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me." So should ours be.

As we fulfil the Great Commission, and faithfully continue to obey Him in our personal lives in whatever way we should, He is there walking beside us. "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

So, to come to the specifics. If God isn't giving you any definite directive to go to Xxxxx, don't. Stay put. He will show you if you definitely need to go anywhere else.

And... just in case the devil might try and get his foot in the door... if you get something which you think indicates you should make a move or some definite decision, ask God for confirmation. Then, He will provide it in some way that will prove it was definitely Him speaking.

One way this often happens is that confirmation comes through an unexpected source, or someone says something prophetically, which they could not possibly have known except by divine revelation.

Stick by the old rule: "If in doubt, don't."

I hope this helps.

Malcolm and Helena