“Why, O Lord, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?” Psalm 10:1

One of the great mysteries of God is His ways.

Some of His ways almost appear to bring us into the most difficult places, as if He were indifferent to our circumstances. It would appear that He is turning His head from our sorrows.

These events in our lives have a particular objective to perform for us. That objective is to bring us to the end of ourselves that we might discover the treasure of darkness.

“Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness” (Job 30:26).

When we are taken into these dark periods, we begin to see light that we never knew existed. Our sensitivities become heightened and our ability to see through spiritual eyes is illuminated.

Unless we are taken into these times, our souls never develop any depth of character. We do not gain wisdom, only knowledge.

Knowledge is gained through understanding; wisdom is gained through the experience of darkness.

After we go through these periods, we discover that God was, in fact, with us throughout the entire time. It does not feel or appear that He is there when we are in the midst of the dark periods.

However, He is there walking with us. He has told us countless times that He will never leave us.

When we are in those dark periods, it does not feel like He is there because He does not rescue us from the circumstances.

He does this for our benefit in order that we might become more like Jesus.

Jesus learned obedience from the things He suffered (see Heb. 5:8). What does that say about how you and I will learn obedience?

Embrace the dark times and gain the wisdom that God intends for you from these times.

by Os Hillman

13 Responses to When God Seems Far Away

  1. Paul says:

    God is eveywhere at ALL times. We tend to lean too much on our emotions in our walk with the Lord. The Scriptures are FULL of comforting verses that apply to every circumstance in our lives. No matter where we find ourselves in our journey with the Lord, our walk is by Faith and not feelings. Personally, I had to learn all the foregoing the hard way. Is there any other way?. I think not. By Faith I thank the Lord for His Presence when He seems a million miles away. I thank Him that I am still His precious child, even when I’ve failed and missed the mark. I listen to songs and hymns and spiritual songs throughout the day on my mp3 player or to worship CD’s in the car. I stay as far away from the trash on mainstream and even social media. (THE) Good news doesn’t sell. There is no magic solution to our dark days, but there is one that always works, offering up Praise to Our Blessed Lord and Savior. Bless the Lord at ALL times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34, et al.

  2. Thabo Moalusi says:

    Haleluyah to that.

  3. Rohan says:

    I can very truly say that the lord watches our every move. I have gone through sad moments in my life, but he has led me out of everything. Its a challenge to stop our trust from waivering. I can feel the ways the lord has guided me in my everyday life. Thankyou lord for watching over me and hold my hand as I live each day.

  4. Mercy Satsatin says:

    Thank you for the message. My favorite is Psalm 91, God is our protector. Amen

  5. Lynn Little says:

    Thank you for this wonderful message. Our Faithful God has me in just such a season now and I am learning to trust in His unfailing love more and more. And bless you all for the comments above. The very encouragement we need is to read the testimonies of others who have “been there” and know that you can still have His abiding peace and the knowledge of His deep and unfailing love for us, even when life seems hard and humiliating, at times.

  6. Chad Lindsey says:

    I cant say that I agree with this statement : “Unless we are taken into these times, our souls never develop any depth of character. We do not gain wisdom, only knowledge.
    Knowledge is gained through understanding; wisdom is gained through the experience of darkness.”

    Jesus was the light not the darkness and look how much wisdom we received from Him. I believe that we gain a depth of character through both the mountain top experiences and the valleys in our lives. Depth of character is gained through all the experiences that we have in our lives; we must continue to walk with Him, God who is true source of all wisdom. Yes the light does shine brighter in the darkness but the light still shines!! And God is still truth.

  7. Dee says:

    One of my favourite Psalms is Psalm 13 which speaks to the same thing you talk about in the article. I particularly love how the Psalmist declares in verse 5 and 6 that he will trust in God’s unfailing love. It is a challenge to trust in a God who at times seems far away but the rewards are well worth it. After the illumination, no amount of darkness can intimidate us!

  8. Ianty Shannon says:

    Thank God for the Word at the right season. I have never experienced moments of darkness and doubt as now. But I know that God is alwys with me. He is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. I trust that He sees and will come through for me. Praise Him. Thank u so much for the encouragement.

  9. Elizabeth says:

    This message reminds me of David’s psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd. Even when we walk through the darkest valley, we should not be afraid, for the Shepherd, The Lord Jesus is close beside us, protecting, comforting and perfecting that which concerns us. We know that where there is a shadow, there is a light behind it, and the light is Jesus! We keep walking on and trusting Him, until we come into the light. Thank you for your encouraging message!

  10. Mary Ann Quibido says:

    Amen.

    Thank you for sharing this.

    God Bless

  11. Nerry Jimenez says:

    Beautiful reminder that The Lord is always with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. Thank You for this Beautiful reminder as we are in, The beginning of end of ages, we need to hold on More to The Lord Our God! Amen!

  12. Friday Bodjor says:

    Thanks, yes God never leave us, he is with us always.

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