Invisible Hands

​He stood to my left with the most perplexed look on his face.  No matter which sink the teenager chose to extend his hands, water would not come out of the metal pipes.  They were invisible under the sensors which should have triggered action. I left that men’s room in Baltimore Washington International airport laughing, thinking of all the times the same thing happened to me.  

Meditation
Job 23:8,9—If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him. When He is at work to the north, I cannot see Him; when He turns south, I cannot find Him.
 
After brutal suffering inflicted by Satan upon Job, he could not find God.  Can you see him standing in grief, extending his sickly arms for relief from heaven’s Living Water yet receiving nothing?  Job was not the only man to complain to God about His disappearance. Israel’s King David uttered these words: “LORD, why do You stand so far away? Why do You hide in times of trouble . . . LORD how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you hide Your face from me?” (Psalm 10:1, 13:1). The prophet Jeremiah lamented, “Why have You forgotten us forever, abandoned us for our entire lives?” (Lamentations 5:20). 

Do you ever have times when you seriously wonder why you are invisible to your Father in heaven?  Don’t be discouraged—you are not alone.  I suspect almost every Christian at some point in life wonders what happened to God.   So what do you do when this occurs?
1.  Don’t give up!  God promises His children, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).  In His timing, when it is right for you, He will reveal Himself. 
2.  Understand that just because you cannot see God does not mean He cannot see you.  Proverbs 15:3 teaches us, “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.”  Nothing misses His observation!
3.   Examine yourself.  Be sure you are not guilty of sin or wrongdoing that would cause God to withdraw from you.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin you might be guilty of and if He answers, immediately confess it and get right with Him.  
4.   Remember Jesus said, “For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God” (John 16:27). This is a permanent love extended to all who love Jesus and you can remind God of your feeling unloved (not that He needs reminding but He is not offended by your being honest).  
5.  Trust God. In the same Psalm David questions God’s disappearance, he writes, “LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will listen carefully” (Psa. 10:17).
 
Inspiration
I have found that we can establish ourselves in a sense of the presence of God by continually talking with Him.—Brother Lawrence & Frank Laubach in Practicing His Presence
 
©2014 Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)