I recently completed a study by Dannah Gresh called, “Proclaim His Deliverance” based on Psalms 30. I was challenged by a quote within it that said,

Sometimes we are so busy seeking the hand of God, that we miss his presence

How can we miss his presence if we are seeking his hand? Aren’t the two intertwined?

Within the Psalm, David says,

“Then you turned away from me and I was shattered

We have all felt or wrestled with what seems to be the absence of or feel hidden from God’s presence in our lives. Scripture also reveals this truth in the lives and testimonies of the saints we see in Psalms, Isaiah, Job, and in Habakkuk to name a few. This felt absence typically reveals itself in the unexplainable of life’s struggles or circumstances, pain, fear, loneliness, and unanswered prayers. It’s in these times that we are so busy seeking his hand or his favor that we miss his presence. Our vision becomes skewed and we look for him in the ways that are familiar to how he typically connects with us. We see this in 1 Kings 19, when the Lord told Elijah to go and stand out on the mountain for he was about to pass by. The mighty winds came, the earth quaked, and fire roared. These were all typical ways that the Lord revealed his presence to his people, but he was not in them. This time he revealed himself in a whisper.

Believe it or not, God’s perceived absence in our lives is not random, but purposeful in discipline that leads to restoration. It creates a yearning that diverts from our own self-reliance whether in prosperity or in our work and brings forward a spiritual dependence through lamenting prayer. I once believed questioning and complaining to God showed weak faith. Yet Scripture reveals lament as a way to pour out our hearts before Him. It’s not a sign of weakness or unbelief. In fact, it reveals what’s in our hearts, humbles us, and recenters our faith as we remember who God is and restores hope as we recall past trials He has delivered us from. Sometimes, as with Elijah, God directs us to retrace our steps back to the place where we strayed from His direction so we can move forward again. After some naps and nourishment of course!

When God asked Elijah what he was doing there, Elijah’s response shows he didn’t fully grasp how God was working through all that had happened. In God’s reply he made known that what Elijah believed was untrue and he was not alone. It reminds me of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego, there is another in the fire, sometimes we just can’t see or feel it. What a joy to know that any sense of God’s absence is never final, but instead affirms His abiding presence. It brings new a renewed understanding to me when David says “Weeping may tarry for a night but joy comes in the morning.”

If you going through a hard time and you feel that the Lord is absent or has turned his face from you, know that you are not alone. Seek His presence, not just His hand, and listen for that still, small voice. Like Elijah we may not see or know what God is doing in our situations that make our felt perceptions very real and skew our vision. But there is another in the fire walking through life’s battles alongside us. He may not reveal himself to us in a significant, life shaking, or an inferno kind of way, but rather as a glow from a still warm ember that catches your attention that makes His presence known. Be still and know! This truth reminds us that God’s plans are always moving forward, even when we can’t see them.

In the words of the Apostle Gabriel Cross from a recent blog post from Pure Glory:      

What’s to come is better than what’s been. Where you are now isn’t where you’re going to end…….Just because you may not see any sign. Doesn’t mean that you’re not on God’s mind. Hold on and hold to what God gave to you. All that you need will come to you