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The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren—A Synopsis (continued).

Chapter 14—When God Seems Distant (pages 107-113)

Summary

Feelings, especially good ones, are an enjoyable human experience. They are wonderful to experience regarding one’s worship of God, but truthfully, they have no place in one’s relationship with God and must not be counted on in confirming the existence of God, the quality of one’s relationship with Him or the value of His Word (Bible doctrine). God has promised that He will always be with His children, and He is by the indwelling Holy Spirit; but, He never promised His children would feel His presence.

In fact, God often denies His children such feelings of “closeness” in order to try their faith and deepen (mature) their commitment. The greatest worship a Christian can offer God is worship (praise, thanksgiving and service) when he is “down and out,” both in feelings and everyday experiences.

The quest for an experience and/or feelings is a grave error for Christians to make. There is no correlation between these occurrences and “spirituality based on faith.” Sin will rob the believer of the influence of the Holy Spirit in his life, which will also take the believer’s “joy of salvation.” When this happens, the only remedy for restoration is to confess (name, own up to) one’s sins in accordance with 1 John 1:9. The only other “requirement” is to believe God’s Word, that He forgives sin immediately and instantly upon confession. Yet, a believer may also experience spiritual doldrums when he hasn’t sinned, an experience placed in his path by God for his personal spiritual maturity.

A prime example of this is found in the experience of Job. An examination of Job’s path with God teaches the following lessons on how to stay connected to God, absent any apparent communications with Him, as follow.

· The believer should tell God how he honestly feels.

Be brutally frank with Him. Don’t hold back. He is capable of handling every emotion divulged, and much more. In fact, to omit one’s hopelessness before God is an act of faith—His Word continues to try to drive this point home, and it is only when one sees that he is indeed hopeless that God can start to heal and use His child.

· Focus on the essence of God.

Hang on tenaciously (steadfastly and stubbornly) to the character of God. Never doubt His attributes or how He feels about each of His children—the depth of His love for them. Circumstances will never change God—He will always love and be for each believer, no matter how one “feels.” Rely on God’s Word (His promises), not feelings.

· Remember God’s previous work.

Never forget the greatest object of God’s love—the death of Jesus Christ for the explicit purpose of mankind’s salvation. This is the greatest reason for worship. Everything else pales to this. True, Christ experienced a most horrible pre-death torture at the hands of the Romans—His flesh was shredded and repeatedly punctured. But nothing can compare to the spiritual torment (death) that He experienced on the cross when He took the entire depth and breadth of man’s sins and “became that sin” in order to pay the penalty-price for it so that man would not have to pay it. Once a person who comes to the realization that there is nothing he can possibly do to “save himself” and then places his full and genuine confidence (trust, faith) in Jesus Christ (and what He did on the cross) for his personal salvation (a decision of one’s will), he is instantly saved—absolutely forever!

Jesus truly gave up everything for mankind. If there would have been only one person lost, such as the Christian presently under discussion who feels alone and deserted, Christ would have gone through it all for him just the same. That alone is worthy of the Christian’s continual thanks and praise.

Quotes

“God is real, no matter how you feel.” (pg. 107)

“The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting Him when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and loving Him when He seems distant.” (pg. 107)

“In your friendship with God, you won’t always feel close to Him.” (pg. 107)

“To mature your friendship, God will test it with periods of seeming separation—times when it feels as if He has abandoned or forgotten you.” (pg. 108)

“He [God] has promised repeatedly, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. But God has not promised ‘you will always feel my presence.’” (pg. 108)

“The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God.” (pg. 109)

“God’s omnipresence and the manifestation of His presence are two different things. One is a fact; the other is often a feeling. God is always present, even when you are unaware of Him, and His presence is too profound to be measured by mere emotion.” (pg. 110)

“Yes, He [God] wants you to sense His presence, but He’s more concerned that you trust Him than that you feel Him. Faith, not feelings, pleases God.” (pg. 110)

“Did you know that admitting your hopelessness to God can be a statement of faith?” (pg. 110)

“So don’t be troubled by trouble. Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; He is still for you, even when you don’t feel it.” (pg. 111)

“When you feel abandoned by God yet continue to trust Him in spite of your feelings, you worship Him in the deepest way.” (pg. 112)

God’s Son died for you! This is the greatest reason for worship.” (pg. 112)

“Jesus gave up everything so you could have everything. . . . That alone is worthy of your continual thanks and praise.” (pg. 113)

Scriptures

Isaiah 8:17; 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22; Psalm 10:1; 22:1: 43:2; 44:23; 74:11; 88:14; Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 37:28; John 14:16-18; Hebrews 13:5; Isaiah 45:15; Job 23:8-10; Psalm 51; Ephesians 4:29, 30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Jeremiah 2:32; 1 Corinthians 8:12; James 4:4; Job 1:20, 21; 7:11; 29:4; Psalm 116:10; Job 10:12; 42:2: 37:5, 23; 23:10; 31:4; 34:13; 23:14; 19:25; 23:12; 13:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Conclusion/Comments

The difference between an immature and a mature Christian is that an immature Christian relies on experiences and emotions, whereas a mature Christian relies only on faith. It is often during the times of difficulties and depression, often tests from God, that God’s children show their true metal and are refined for His service. When faced with such temptations and testing, the believer should be perfectly honest with God in the expression of his dilemma, focus on the character (attributes) of God and the fact that God continues to abide with him through the agency of the Holy Spirit, and remember all that Jesus Christ did for him on the cross of Calvary.