“What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.” - Psalm 51:6 (MSG)

We all love it when our life in God is effortless, and we feel alive in His presence. Circumstances intertwine with new-found joy and peace and outflows communion with God. We are experiencing God and our partnership with Him feels tangible.

Then there is the opposite. Where did He go? Did I do something wrong? Even the most basic things in our life in Him seem arduous and devoid of His presence. We are restless, truth isn’t sitting well in us, and nothing comes as easy as in the previous days. The faucet is still turned on, but there’s nothing coming out anymore!

In seeking to know God, we often focus on His characteristics (His omniscience, meekness, power, etc), which is a very powerful and necessary activity. But just as important is how those characteristics cause Him to act towards us, and work inside of us. We need to not only know God’s character, but become familiar with how He works in our lives, that we may not be so “caught off guard” at His dealings with us. This is called knowing His ways, which flow out of who He is.

In my experience, these “opposite” times when God doesn’t seem near are critical moments when we can really dive deep into the “hidden wisdom” (1Cor. 2:6-7) of God and come out with some real understanding. If we can just get past the initial offense of “what’s wrong” we can begin to settle in and search God out. First, we recognize what He is doing in our lives. We realize we are in a season where He is calling us beyond our practical experience and into a deeper realm of faith.  It doesn’t mean He isn’t there or that there won’t be times where we do feel Him again, but we recognize that He is building truth in us by faith. When we recognize how He is working in us, we can then follow that trail back to who God is, seeing His goodness and delight in working in us.

To put it a different way, God’s desire is for us to know Him by faith, so that we don’t ultimately trust in feelings or our own understanding as our barometer of His active involvement and heart towards us. When we can’t feel Him, we can either be offended and slip away from Him, or take the invitation to dive deep into His Word and search Him out by faith. Whether we feel it or not, the Holy Spirit is filling us with the true, new life of Christ!

When we feel Him, we are actively experiencing Him, and that points to His goodness. When we don’t, He is actively conceiving truth and building us through our faith-choice, and that points to His goodness. Be encouraged, for God’s goodness is His glory! (Ex. 33:19)