Sometimes, I feel so lonely. So. . .alone.
Sometimes, I feel:
Weak.
Afraid.
Tempted.
Angry.
Empty.
Lost.
Confused.
I have the Lord in my life. He is my Savior and my King. Of that, I have no doubt.
But sometimes. . .I can’t find Him.
Maybe what I mean is that I can’t feel Him. I can’t touch Him.
Jesus is with me. But sometimes. . .I only know that by faith.
In times like this, all I know to do is cry out to God from my heart.
When you read the Zabur (the Psalms), you see King Dawud (David), expressing himself to God with real honesty – with complete transparency – in his desperation. And God seemed to love that kind of prayers:
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. . .This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. . .The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (King Dawud/David, The Zabur/The Psalms, Chapter 34, verses 4, 6, 17, 18 )
“Lord, I need You, oh I need You!”
Thanks for sharing this with us. For those of us that never knew our earthly fathers, we can know our Heavenly Father….
Keith, as you may have read in one of my earlier posts, I never knew my earthly father until age 22. That is when I met him. We had 2 years together before he passed away. How I thank God for that short time – and especially that he became a follower of Jesus in the end.
And so, it is so incredibly good to have a Heavenly Father. As the apostle Paul wrote,
“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.'” (The Holy Bible, Romans 8:15)
Thanks Pastor Mark! I’ve been recently experiencing this too, and as a young Christian, I’m starting to realize that these types of experiences where God seems far are a normal part of the Christian journey. I think that’s why the Psalmists always talk about “waiting on the Lord.” When we cry out for grace to do His will, we have to wait upon him sometimes to give us that strength that only comes from him.
Isaiah 40:27-31 has been a helpful encouragement for me:
“27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.” (ESV)
Matthew, so great to have you reply here for the first time and share the great Scriptures from the prophet Isaiah. Thank you!
Yes, God’s seeming “far-away-ness” is certainly part of the journey in following Jesus. It is a life of faith:
“For we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
“. . .in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith'” (Romans 1:17; see also Habukkuk 2:4, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38).
God promises to always be with us – whether we feel Him or not:
“. . .God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'” (Hebrews 13:5, NIV)
“. . .God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you'” (Hebrews 13:5, NLT)
“. . .He (God) Himself has said, ‘I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. (I will) not,(I will) not, (I will) not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let (you) down (relax My hold on you)! (Assuredly not!)'” (Hebrews 13:5, Amplified).
STORY about Jesus (Peace be upon Him).. The Truth
AMAZING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCZ4HauROx0