You’re moving right along in life. Things are going well. You really don’t have anything to complain about, but something just isn’t the way that it should be. You’re pleased with your Bible study and prayer time, but there’s one small problem. Even though you’ve been obedient in seeking God, He seems as if He’s a million miles away. You pray, but often wonder if He’s even listening. You stop to question what happened. You know that you aren’t alone, but often it feels that way. You don’t like this place and would like for things to go back to where they were before. The many times when you could know and feel God with you. You miss this and don’t understand why it has to be this way. It’s a place where you feel as if you are walking in the dark. You ask yourself where God is in the midst of this unknown.

We all go through times like this on our spiritual journey. The enemy so often wants to make us think that no one else goes through this. His main objective is to discourage us from doing the things that we need to do in our relationship with God. If he can keep us from pursuing God, then little by little we become weaker and weaker. Eventually, we don’t have it in us to get up and fight anymore. Then it’s operation successful for him.

When we experience these times of not sensing God the way that we desire, then we must keep in mind that we are truly walking by faith. Everything that we do to grow in our relationship with Him is causing us to develop deep roots because we aren’t doing this by anything we can see or feel. We are continuing to seek Him out of a deep love that we have for Him. It’s a love not just based on how we feel, but it’s a love based on the truth that we know. We decide that we are going to be steadfast in this relationship no matter what.

We must purpose in our minds and hearts to know that God will never leave us or forsake us. No matter what’s going on around us, we are confident of this truth. Even though we struggle to feel God, we know that in reality He hasn’t went anywhere. This is just a valley that we are in. It will pass and won’t last forever. There will come a time when we will sense God greatly, but until then we just wait. We decide to be patient as we let Him have His way with us. He is The Potter forming and shaping us to be just what He desires.

It can be difficult to be in this place, but none of the trying times are being wasted. They are serving a purpose not just now, but in the future. They are preparing us to be strong men and women of God. If we never went through seasons where it feels as if God is far away, then we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the times that we do sense Him powerfully in our lives. It would be so easy for us to just take this all for granted.

God often allows these times to bring us to a place of contentment with Him. We begin to realize that He is so much more than just a feeling or experience. He is The One that has captured our heart. No longer do we have to go from one experience to another seeking God, but we decide to live in a peaceful place with Him regardless if He feels close to us or not. He is so much more than just what we can gain, but He is the overwhelming baptism of love. He is the love that we experience on a daily basis.

When you find yourself in this place, don’t give up. Keep pressing on and doing those things that you know to do. Keep trusting and being obedient. Keep spending time with Him. Pursue His heart. He understands you better right now than you even understand yourself. There is a purpose for Him allowing this, so don’t throw in the towel. You are learning and growing more now where you are. Keep being thankful and offering up praise to Him. When you get to the other side of this valley, you will be a stronger man or woman of God than you were before. So be grateful for the times that you don’t understand. They are making you into an even more beautiful creation. These times are in His hands.