Encouragement

I always find encouragement in the Word of God. When I am doubtful, I can read and be reminded of God's faithfulness. When I fear, I can read and be strengthened. When I am thirsty, I can read and find living water for my soul.

Recently, a friend and I were discussing how sometimes it is difficult to sense God's presence around you, even when you are seeking it. We asked whether it was on account of things that we are doing, or not doing; wondering if we pushed Him away. We also looked at the flip side of this, maybe this is what walking by faith means, pursuing even when we can't feel God.

As we were talking, a Scripture came to my mind from the book of Job, but I couldn't remember where it was found, so I began looking it up in the Bible. When I found it, I shared it with her: 'Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold.'(Job 23:10) My friend asked me to read the context of the Scripture, so she could get a better understanding of what Job was saying. As I began to read it, my jaw dropped at the specificity of the Holy Spirit. He had something He wanted us to know:

Job 23:8-14
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. Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me I will emerge as pure gold. My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept to His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily food. But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him? He does what He desires. He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me, and He has many more things like these in mind.

Wow!!!!

I am pretty sure God answered our questions! The most wonderful thing about this is, that even when we don't know where He is, even when we can't feel His presence, He still knows where we are! He reassured us that we hadn't done anything to push Him away, in fact we were EXACTLY where He wanted us to be. He will certainly fulfill every promise He made us. We can so easily forget how much our Creator loves us! And, that walking by faith thing, yeah, it's a requirement, but God never let's us walk blindly.

The reason I wanted to share this story is because I know we're not the only ones that ever feel like this. Most of the time, most people feel this way. Because of it, due to the fact that we're such feelings based creatures, we simply assume He's not there and that there's no hope for us. That's simply not true! The only important thing is that God knows where we are, and He cares about our circumstances. So, be encouraged by the Word of God, which gives us a perfect window into Who exactly our God is, and what we can expect as His children!

Blessings,
Amanda