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Have you ever tried to pray and felt nothing, saw nothing, sensed nothing? Have there been times when you desperately needed some word of assurance, some demonstration of divine presence, and you got nothing?" Foster's words here certainly ring true for me. Many times I've asked God why he seems to have hidden himself from me, why the answers don't come. Honestly, this is when the nice Bible verse platitudes people like to quote just don't cut it. When we build our life on a real relationship with Jesus Christ we grow dependent on his presence and his every word. When he's absent, we start to feel the desperation like thirsting for water in the desert. We must trust though that God has a purpose in his absence. One benefit is that "
God is slowly weaning us of fashioning him in our own image." We learn he is not at out beckon call, coming to take away every discomfort and immediately supply the answers to every question. How would we ever grow that way? When I find myself in this barren wasteland, I get desperate. I start scratching through my mind forcing myself to remember the last word I received from the Lord. I grab on to that word and keep obeying and keep walking in that direction no matter how small the progress. In my desperation, I come to God more open and more willing to let go of my own agenda.
If you find yourself in a wilderness, keep praying and hold fast to what you have in Christ. Try to find peace as you go through trusting the Lord all the way.
