How Do You Know

Sometimes my feelings are unruly – especially when I am sick.

I struggle with feeling dry and far from God. I know mentally God loves me and cares about me, but emotionally I don’t feel it.

How do I know I am not far from Him when I feel far? How do I know He is near when I feel like I am in the middle of the desert? He promises abundant life yet life feels hopeless. Often physical exhaustion leads to spiritual dryness.

How do I know He is there in the midst of all the things going on in my life when He feels so distant and aloof? Where is God when my prayers seem to hit the ceiling and His word seems to have no relation to my life?

I can’t say I was very good at this while I was sick, but I want to be better. I want to tell myself the truth and cling to it despite how I feel. The truth is that God sent His Son to die for me. That truth is the same whether I feel like I am loved or not. God loves me and He stepped down out of heaven to show me I matter to Him for eternity. In fact the same is true of you.

God says you are amazing. Read Psalm 139 if you don’t believe me. He thinks about us so much that we cannot even count His thoughts. Nothing comes into our lives that He is not intimately aware of. He rejoices with us in the great times and grieves with us in the difficult times.

So the next time a dry spell comes I want to have some scripture memorized so I can speak truth into the dry feeling. An anchor of truth that reminds me no matter what I feel the truth is God loves me.

So will you memorize Deuteronomy 31:8 with me? It goes like this:

 “…The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Together let’s cling to God’s word so that despite our emotions we can know God is near.