CHRIST IN US - PART 2 - WHEN HE IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND

 WHEN THE LORD IS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear: and in the night season, and am not silent." Psalm 22:1-2

 There I was hanging on to our capsized canoe in Atlin Lake, Northern British Columbia during Camp Yukon, with Ralph on the other end as we were trying to kick our way to shore. He probably could have swam back but he stayed with me for my sake (he smiled the whole time). Hypothermia began to run through my body. I was shaking, my teeth were chattering, and I was occasionally taking in water because of the waves. Initially and at first I was calm, cool, and collected, confident that everything would be alright. I felt assured, but as time dragged on my body began to complain. Panic and doubt started to creep in. I questioned the Lord concerning what was going on. Immediately the Scripture came to mind about the instance when Jesus' disciples panicked when the waves began to fill their boat during a storm, and He asked them where their faith was. I answered, "That's not fair. They were still in the boat, but we're in the water!" Shortly afterwards I could no longer sense the Presence of the Lord. I began to have doubts and even fear. "Have I been wrong about the Lord all along???" I could see that the shore was not very far away. Then this strong urge to make a mad swim for the shore came over me. I was seriously tempted, but reason in the back of my mind from past teachings about swimming dangers reminded me to stay with the boat. The other choice would be suicidal. I decided to hold to the past instructions. Finally some Christian brothers saw us, got into a canoe and rescued us/me. I believed in Jesus again, though I am slightly ashamed.  

   In all my writings I do not believe that I have mentioned this position. The way I typically write it would seem that God is always just a prayer away (and He is), and that I and everyone who knows Him are always aware of His Presence and can sense Him at all times. Please forgive me for this, because that is far from the truth, at least in my case, "for we walk by faith, and not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7. "Hide not Your face from me; put not Your servant away in anger..." Psalm 27:9, "O God, Your are my God; early will I seek You: my soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land, where not water is. To see Your power and Your glory, so as I have seen You in the sanctuary." Psalm 63:1-2

INDEX:

REMEMBER THE WALK OF FAITH

TIMES WHEN THE LORD STEPS BACK: 

THE LAND OF CANAAN, SAMSON, KING SAUL, KING HEZEKIAH 

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU CANNOT FIND THE PRESENCE OF GOD?

THE TIMELESS POWER OF THE SCRIPTURES

SITUATIONAL ADVISE

 Indeed there are times where we long for the Lord, and are missing His presence (read the Psalms) . There are times when it seems difficult to find Him or hear from Him even though we know He is faithfully right there with us. Hopefully we are drawn to seek Him afresh. He allows us to hunger and thirst after Him that we may pursue Him like the Shulamite woman in Song of Solomon 5:2-5, or like David said in Psalm 63, "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You. My soul thirsts for You, my flesh logs for You in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is." This keeps our walk with Him fresh, fully dependent on Him, and not taking Him for granted. 

  Simply because we cannot always sense His Presence, or are not always aware of Him, does not mean that He has left us in any way. Truly He will never leave us, nor forsake us as He promises (Hebrews 13:5), but He does, as it were, make Himself undetectable when He sees fit ("Lo, He goes by me, and I see him not: He passes on also, but I perceive Him not." Job 9:11), thus giving us an opportunity to pursue Him as just mentioned, and in the meantime we get to see where we are really at. He is always there because He is faithful, yet all the while quietly monitoring our moves and behavior. 

  It is important to also mention that because He does not control our every move that He has abandoned us in any way, nor is it His responsibility to control us. We never lose our free will and power of choice. If by chance our actions at times do not reflect His character, it does not mean that He has left us. Instead He simply left us to our own devices. We should know better for the most part.

 It is interesting how we can forget to give Him the glory when we do something that even amazes us, but may accuse Him of abandonment when we reap a bad decision. Did God leave David when he committed adultery with Bathsheba? Did not David act on his own volition? True we are completely dependent on the Lord to help keep us from our own folly ("and lead us not into temptation), but it is our responsibility to not let sin and folly  reside in our heart. "And God said to him (Abimelech - king of Gerar) in a dream, 'Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart, for I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore, I did not allow you to touch her (Sarah).'" Genesis 20:6. So clearly there are times when the Lord does keep people form doing wrong (and not just His followers) if their heart is earnest to not do wrong. That is what we need to work at in our heart and mind constantly and at all times - to wholeheartedly do what is right. May the Lord help us.

REMEMBER THE WALK OF FAITH

 - Our walk with God is by faith, and solely on His terms. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. That is what the ancients were commended for." Hebrews 11:1  What is commendable is not how much we feel His Presence, hear His voice, see miracles, but how faithful and trusting in Him we are at ALL times, especially in the dry and silent times. It is not recorded that God spoke to Abram before he was seventy-five, but most certainly God saw something exceptional in him that was so profound among humans that Abram/Abraham's faith would be the blueprint for all believers. In Abraham we see his hardcore faith regardless of all the rational opposition, or the apparent lack of common natural evidence. During the period of twenty-five years it is recorded that God spoke with him around six times. Abraham was not born again as a follower of Jesus, meaning the Spirit of Christ did not dwell in him as He does in us, so His faithfulness is impressive. Were there desperate times with Abraham where he took situations into his own hands? Most certainly.Was Abraham being led of the Lord regarding Pharaoh and Sarah, or Abimelech and Sarah? How about the situation with Hagar Sarah's maid. Did he not take these situations into his own hands? Yes, only because he was unsure as to how God was to fulfill promises. The Scripture was clear that Abraham was confident that He would (Romans 4:18-22), but without the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit, we all tend to try to work things out through our own understanding. The Lord did not abandon him in those situations, but was gracious and rectified the outcomes, but there was a cost, especially with the situation with Hagar and Ishmael.

  David spoke often in the Psalms of yearning for the Lord. Paul the apostle at one point spoke of despairing of life (2 Corinthians 1:8-10) which is not typical of someone who is sensing the presence of the Lord at that moment. Look at what Paul further says regarding this situation, "...that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead." Here God was training them (and us) through their circumstance to hold to our faith to the saving of our souls. Paul concludes in perhaps his final epistle, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7 That is truly the our goal in life, to keep our faith in Christ Jesus not matter what, and God our Heavenly Father is carefully and lovingly orchestrating every situation that we may be successful to the end. So we should not feel at a loss if we cannot sense His most amazing Presence at times? Oh, but how we must stay true to Him, His Word, His ways through it all! 

TIMES WHEN THE LORD STEPS BACK 

- The Bible records instances when the Lord, as it were, steps back from us. This is concerning and there are critical lessons for us. It appears that the main reasons are not a means of punishment, but rather a way of testing training, and sometimes consequence. Let us us look at some.  

PEOPLE OF CANAAN - THE CUP OF INIQUITY IS FULL 

  - This first topic is from a more general perspective where we will look at how God watches over all peoples and nations. Many times we wonder why disaster happens to some peoples and not to others. God describes His perspective of the nations as trees in His garden, actually His Eden. "To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet shall you be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth...This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God." Ezekiel 31:18. Therefore He watches over them and cares for them "And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?" Jonah 4:11. Furthermore, He deals with them according to their/our behavior. If we look at the land of Canaan, there are a couple of statements that give us insight as to how and why God works among nations. For instance, God would not give Israel the land of Canaan until the cup of iniquity of the Amorites was full. Genesis 15:16. Then four hundred and thirty years later, when the scouts of the Children of Israel went to spy out the land, Caleb said, "their defense is departed from them." Numbers 14:9  In the case of the Canaanites, their corruption had gone too far, thus the consequences of their behavior was guaranteed, and God withdrew His hand of protection to give way to their pending judgment.

 What is being said in all this, is that God is watching over all peoples whether we are aware of it or not, sparing, saving, delivering, or correcting, as He sees fit, and many do not even realize it. "For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe." 1 Timothy 4:10

SAMSON - WHEN WE BREACH THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT .

 -  Samson was an interesting character and peculiar servant of God. Chosen of God from the womb, and consecrated as a Nazarite from birth to death. Typically, one becomes a Nazarite on a voluntary basis and only for a specified period of time which was determined by the one taking the vow. An interesting aspect about this term is that it is from a prime root word NAZAR, meaning to hold aloof, abstain, to set apart (for sacred purposes) to devote, consecrate, separate (-ing,self). The word Nazir - consecrated - and unpruned vine, separate, a vine undressed. (from the Strongs Exhaustive Concordance {but slightly abridged}).

  If we look at the character and life of Samson, we can observe some oddities regarding his behavior. First of all it seems apparent that his parents spoiled him. He bluntly tells his parents to get this daughter of the Philistines for him as his wife, and when they protested because she is not Israelite he said, "Get her for me, for she pleases me well."  Is that how any well brought up son should talk to his parents? Now look at this next verse, "But his father and mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that He sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel." Judges 14:1-4. This is very interesting, because Israelites were not to intermarry with non Israelites. That was the commandment of the Mosaic Law (and by the way, we as Christians and instructed to not marry non-Christians either. 1 Corinthians 7:39). Yet here we see Samson doing something according to the will of God that was contrary to the Law of Moses. Now if we look at the meaning and root meaning of Nazarite, it begins to make sense of this Nazarite calling. It is a special devotion and consecration to God, but to be untouched by human control, hence the unpruned vine. Jesus Christ Himself, being the True Picture of a Nazarite, said a very interesting statement to the Jews who wanted to stone Him for blasphemy because He called Himself the Son of God, "Is it not written in your law...?" John 10:34. Although He further acknowledges that the Scriptures cannot be broken, He is in a way disassociating Himself from being subject or under God's Law the same way the Israelites were, even though He came for the very purpose to fulfill it for us. I want to be careful here so as not to give anyone an excuse to behave in a lawless manner before God, because that is not what is meant. Our righteousness is not by following the Law, no one can. Our right standing with God is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone Who fulfilled the law perfectly in our place. The apostle Paul described his position as a disciple of Jesus Christ like this, "And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law...I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." 1 Corinthians 9:20-22. Being detached from the rigid demands of the Law, but instead being led by God's Holy Spirit, enables us to cross many borders to reach everyone for Christ = carry out GOD'S will, yet without ever sinning against Him. How wonderful is that!

  It would seem that the Lord allowed Samson to step outside the bounds of the Mosaic law to some extent in order to enable Samson to accomplish His will in dealing with the oppression of the Philistines. Now please take note here that the law of sin and death is always at work no matter who you are. Samson toyed with sinful behavior with Delilah that eventually cost him is life, which is the wages of sin. 

  So, getting back to the topic of the Lord leaving us, here we see Samson having an affair with another Philistine woman - Delilah. As you follow the story, she was hired by the Philistine Lords to discover the source of his great strength. She finally wears him down until he divulges the information and she has his Nazarite hair cut off, which was a breach of his vow. When she calls on the Philistine soldiers, Samson does not realize that the Lord left him, "And she said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!'  And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, 'I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he did not know that the Lord was departed from him." Judges 16:20

  Our liberties in Christ are not a license to act foolishly or presumptuously. If we break faith with the Lord and our commitment to Him, we cannot expect Him to always be there to bail us out. Truly, we reap what we sow.

 The redeeming part of the story is that as his hair grew, the Lord Who is faithful to His covenants, restored his strength and allowed him to fulfill his calling (so to speak). My favorite verse in this entire passage is, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time…” Judges 16:28 NAS

KING SAUL - WHEN DISOBEDIENCE IS CONSISTENT 

- King Saul was anointed as the first king of Israel at the request of the people, and selected by God to conform to their desire. King Saul did not demonstrate much faith by his obedience, and took on himself to offer sacrifices when Samuel did not show up at the appointed time 1 Samuel 13:13. That cost him the Kingdom. But he continued to make bad decisions, then when he disobeyed in the issue of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15) from that time on the Lord withdrew His Spirit from Saul. Though he remained King until his death, the Lord had departed from him (1 Samuel 16:14) in that he could no longer get direction from the Lord. With regards to his eternal soul, that remains with the Lord, we can only speculate, but as for his ability to hear from and get direction for his rule, he lost it completely. Remember he was not Born Again, but disobedience can be costly. Now look, I do not wish to imply that the Lord will abandon us whenever we disobey, but if we make a habit of it, expect to be disciplined, or at least corrected. I want to declare here that He is far more gracious than we can imagine, in spite of our many failures. If you are an earnest believer in Jesus, do not worry, He will lovingly, faithfully, and graciously walk you through your many struggles. He is there for us to succeed! What we must be leery of is deliberate rebellion or defiance. The verse in this application is "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." 1 Samuel 15:23  In such cases we can expect discipline. "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, 'My son, despise not the chastening of  the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of Him.' For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the father does not chasten?" Hebrews 12:5-7 "The Lord has chastened me sore, but He has not given me over unto death." Psalm 118:18

KING HEZEKIAH - WHEN WE ARE BEING TESTED  AND  GOD LEAVES US TO OUR DEVICES

 - This is a most serious, dear friends. "Howbeit, in the business of the ambassadors of  the princes of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, GOD LEFT HIM, TO TRY HIM,THAT HE MIGHT KNOW ALL THAT WAS IN HIS HEART. 2 Chronicles 32:31 Remember, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9    Hezekiah was an amazing king, but he did have a pride issue as stated in another passage (2 Chronicles 32:25-26.) In this situation he did something very foolish. When God left him, he carelessly revealed to the envoys from Babylon all the riches and treasures of his kingdom, This made Judah vulnerable and a future target. We have no idea how much the grace and Spirit of God in us guides us and keeps us from our own folly. But in instances where He seems to lift His hand, you may find yourself doing irrational or stupid things. You will likely be shocked at what kind of folly is in you that is trying to express itself, and the foolish judgments you may make while you are not being directed by His Spirit, following His Word, and using His wisdom. We can be sure that He is fully aware of them, but perhaps we need to be aware of them too. Hopefully then we will have less confidence in our own righteousness and abilities. 

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU CANNOT FIND THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD OR YOU CANNOT GET A WORD FROM HIM -

"YES, IN THE WAY OF YOUR JUDGMENTS, O LORD, HAVE WE WAITED FOR YOU..." ISAIAH 26:8

 "You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them." 2 Timothy 3:14

 "Therefore be also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of man comes. Who then is a faithful and wise servant , whom his lord had made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing..." Matthew 24:44-46

 How easily we can forget, or worse, lose faith, when we wait for a long time and the Lord does not seem to be doing anything. Let's look at the children of Israel when Moses was on the mountain for forty days with the Lord. Now they all saw him go up, they saw and could see the cloud of the Lord. They did previously hear His terrifying voice and witnessed the fire, aside from all the fantastic miracles, yet after waiting for a long time they quickly forgot and fell into depravity. On the other hand, Joshua, who at the time was Moses' servant, waited patiently on the mountain for Moses and did not give into doubt or indulgent pursuits. How are we after beginning in faith and glory, and then for long periods fall into dryness? Are we still faithfully following Jesus in what we know to do, or are we given over to selfishness, or fruitless Godless pursuits? We do have the Bible as an ever faithful witness to guide us. His Word never changes. True faith and patience are like two sides of a coin.

  There are times when you feel He is nowhere to be found, where He seems to have drawn away, or even left you. In these times we may discover the depth of our character and the firmness of our faith in Jesus by our obedience to His Word. When we are in any situation or under pressure, we are to follow the commands of the Bible whether we feel His presence or not. While taking flying lessons, the instructor may cut the power to your aircraft to see how you will react and if you will follow the proper procedures you were taught should your engine fail. You should know what and how to respond. It is the same in Christ. Whether we sense His presence or hear His voice, He expects us to know His will and respond accordingly because He has given us the Bible as our guide and reference, He Himself being the flawless Example. A super good line in the movie "God's not Dead 2" is, "The teacher is silent when the student is being tested." This is so true. So expect God to be silent at times, but trust Him implicitly while doing what you know He has taught you from His Word, the Bible.

THE TIMELESS POWER OF THE SCRIPTURES

"LET INTEGRITY AND UPRIGHTNESS PRESERVE ME." Psalm 25:21

 Being God conscious and aware of His Presence is indescribably wonderful, but it is the times where you are in a desert type situation, where spirituality and God consciousness is scarce, what kind of person are you? What is our behavior like? Or choosing another circumstance, when you become confused, doubtful, and cannot grasp the Presence and direction from the Lord, what do you do? The miracle you need is your faithful steadfastness regardless of all your doubts and fears. In the account Jesus told us of the rich man and Lazarus, where the rich man in hell asked Abraham if Lazarus could go warn his brothers so they would not go to that place of torment, Abraham said, "'They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if one went unto them form the dead, they will repent.' And he said to him, 'If they hear not Moses and the prophets , neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'" Luke 16:29-31 We have the Bible and all its instructions, which abides with us always. That is the truth and never changes. That holds all the instructions we need in life to please God and make it to Heaven, and if we do not heed it, disaster is waiting for us on the other side. By it we know right from wrong, and the will of God. He does not need to tell us what He has already told us in the Scriptures. The big test is that in times of weakness, confusion, doubt, will we chose to obey His Word, or our feelings, passions, and the pressure of others? Yes He is still there with us, but what kind of character are we going to prove to be? Will we chose to do what is right in His sight, believe the Bible and follow it?

SITUATIONAL ADVISE

A. IF WE ARE BEING PRESSED TO MAKE A DECISION - and we have no clear direction from the Lord in a particular daily life matter, a good rule of thumb is to not make a decision until He does give a direction, and He will guide us if we are willing to wait for Him. I am referring here in a situation where we are being pressured to make a move or make a decision, and we have no peace in our hearts about it, or are confused, unclear, or doubtful. That is a sure way to make a wrong choice or bad decision. When doubtful or confused, we stick to what we know is the sure will of God until we have a confirmed redirection. 

WHEN WE ARE OFF COURSE -  When lost in a forest, we stay in the last location that we know was the right path until help comes or we figure our way out. Actually staying put is the safest and surest way for others to find you. Wait on the Lord, and He will come through either by external help, or give you the wisdom and knowledge to get you back on course. Hold to what you know for sure is His will.

WHEN WE CHANGE OUR MIND -  "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. For let not that man think that he will receive anything from the Lord." James 1:8-7 If we make a decision and step our in faith, then change our mind, we had better expect to not get new direction from Him. Make sure you have the mind of Christ in your decisions, and then stick with it. 

OUTSIDE OF CHRIST - It is our sins that separate us from God (Isaiah 59:2). As Jesus was hanging on the cross the Bible says that, "He has made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21 . But at that moment, while bearing our sin and under God's wrath, He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?!" Mark 15:34. Sin is the great separator and divider. That is why people who do not know Jesus do not know God and are not aware of His Presence. In Jesus Christ, our sins are washed away by the blood He shed on the Cross, and His Holy Spirit can then come into our cleansed hearts and we will be united with Him forever! That is what it is all about!

CONCLUSION - There are and will be times when you cannot perceive the Lord, or hear His voice, but do not panic, trust Him with all your heart, for He will never leave you or forsake you. Do, however, examine your heart and ways before Him just to be sure that there is not something that has slipped between He and you. He loves you so much!!! May God Bless you Richly!