“Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God’ ”? Isaiah 40:27 NIV
Have you ever felt like this, like your “way is hidden from the Lord”, like your cause is disregarded by…God”? Does it feel sometimes like your prayers don’t get past the ceiling and God is deaf to your cries?
I felt this way a little in the last week, like there was a disconnect between me and God. I kept up my daily Bible study, but the words just didn’t seem to reach to my soul. I couldn’t find any words to write. I felt down for no apparent reason.
At times like these, it can be tempting to just throw in the towel and give up on God. When your study seems to lead nowhere,your prayers go unanswered, and your life is a mess, it makes you wonder if it’s worth all the effort.
We all have days like these, but James tells us when we “face trials of many kinds,” to “Consider it pure joy…because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2-3)
If our faith is never tested it will never grow. If God’s light always shines on our path we will never learn to walk with Him in the dark.
It is when we can’t see God’s face, when He seems so far away, that we must reach out by faith, grasp His hand and never let go. We must persevere and not give up, trusting He meant it when He said, ““Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Today, if you will put your “hope in the Lord”, grasp His hand by faith and never let go, He will make you “soar on wings like eagles…run and not grow weary…walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).
At this moment your world may seem pretty dark. Right now God may feel so far away. But remember, as the old Family Reunion song says, “It’s the darkest just before dawn.”
A better day is on its way! “Never give up, keep holding on!”