Times of Testing

We have had an unusually warm winter with little precipitation. It’s as though the heavens have closed up leaving the ground parched for water. No appreciable snow, little rain, and it has been this way for several months.

There are times in the spiritual life when the heavens appear to be closed, too, and no responses to prayer seem to come. Or, the Spirit of God seems to be in another universe altogether and we feel bereft of His presence, times when God almost seems to not be listening to us for some reason. When that happens, we’ll take inventory: do I have unconfessed sin? Am I angry at someone? Do I owe someone an apology? We come up with all kinds of reasons why God has seemingly left us alone and on our own.

But God’s silence isn’t necessarily due to anything on our part at all. Scripture says His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. In the Gospel of Luke, the Holy Spirit led Jesus out to the wilderness after He had heard God’s voice from heaven declare, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with You I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) It was in wilderness wandering, a place of silence and aloneness that Jesus was tempted by Satan. It was a time of trial and testing for him. This, after a moment of glory.

It is not comfortable to talk about God testing His people, but scripture says He does so. Not so He can see if we will fail. No, the good news is that even when He seems far away, the abiding truth is that we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. And His power and presence means that just like Jesus, we can be victorious in the times we feel the weakest. Whatever we may face, God will never truly leave us alone and without sufficient strength.

We may feel like God isn’t hearing us or that He is nowhere to be found, but He is near. Scripture says God will never leave us nor forsake us, and that remains true in times of trials. Whatever we are going through, God is there, giving strength and grace so we might move on to greater things in life. So, do not be discouraged if facing difficulties and in the wilderness. Jesus went through the same and is alongside you even now. Faith is the assurance of things not yet seen. It is our hope of coming through stronger and closer to God.