When God seems so distant

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. - Deuteronomy 31:8

The scripture tells us that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. But never in the bible did it say that the Lord will always make His presence felt. And I believe that all of you have felt this. You have felt it in your life that at least once, God seemed to be so distant. He was absent. The winds of the storm kept bashing you from all angles. It's also as if, the weight of the world was on your shoulders.

Problems arise due to many reasons. You're having a great day and the people seem to like you and then you run into this one guy who just turns your day upside down. Or maybe, you lost your one and only coin to complete the payment for the groceries. And there are problems that just really demand answers. There are problems in where there seems to be no end. And there are problems that just make you feel really lost. 

So your solution? You pray with all your heart. You sing praises to God. You fast for 10 days. You attend church without any absences. You give your tithes. You read the bible everyday and so on. But what is God's reply? He does nothing. He's silent. The time you needed Him the most, is also the time He doesn't show His face. And if you're thinking that this is being spiritually dead, it's not. It's different. 

The bible says that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope (Romans 5:3-4). And being part of our lives is suffering. And whether we like it or not, it's inevitable. But if we look at it on the bright side, we will get to know that God is just giving us tests; tests that will give us revelations of who we are when we face these scornful problems. At times, we will fail to look at Him when the bible tells us that we should (Hebrews 12:2). At times, we will look for excuses to run from our problems when the bible tells us that we should confront them (2 Timothy 3:16). And at times, we take out our anger on people who never did anything (Ephesians 4:26). 

Yes, we're people. Yes we commit these things. But I also believe that if we ask for God's grace whenever we're in these situations, we will be calm. So what do you do when God seems so distant? The answer is really simple: Surrender and just trust Him all the way. 

Is it easy? No it's not.

How can I trust Him when I'm already in this kind of situation? Just do.

What if I don't get out of this problem? There are no problems in this world that you can't handle if God didn't place you there.

A storm or hurricane, no matter how big or how strong the winds may blow or how loud the thunders may roar or how destructive it may be, has an eye in the middle. And in the eye, everything is just calm and at peace. If you have problems right now, just have faith (Psalm 119:114). Be still and just trust Him with your all. You will feel that you're inside the eye of the storm and not outside of it.

When God seems so distant, just think of it this way: During an intermission in a play, props are being organized, people are getting ready to wear new costumes, the setting is about to change, the actors are rehearsing, etc. Just because there's nothing happening on stage, doesn't mean there's nothing happening behind the curtains. God's hands are working. You may not see it now, you'll just be surprised in the end. 

[Credits to the person who uploaded this vid. This is not mine]