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.