God, Why Do You Hide?

September 12, 2011 Monday Message:

“Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” Psalms 10:1

When the going gets tough, does God really hide? Absolutely not! So let's look at what might be going on.

When the sun goes down each evening, is its light extinguished? No, the earth has simply turned away from the light. God is like that. When we feel that God is distant, oftentimes we have turned away. God is right there, right where He always has been, right where He should be.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways,” declares the Lord. We know what we want; but do we know what God wants? A crisis in our lives is sometimes like a pruning in the vineyard. It hurts at the time, but we grow stronger by overcoming the adversity. Isaiah 55:8

God has three answers to our prayers: yes, no and not yet. We would love the answer to be “yes” all the time, but God knows what's best. Sometimes what we think would be a blessing turns out to be a curse. Most lottery winners are not happy a year later. They wanted “yes,” but “no” might have saved their lives; certainly their sanity!

“Not yet” is most challenging for me to get right. Even when something would obviously be good, I want it to happen right away. But God often gives us more time to draw a crowd, build teams and increase financial support. The thing that looks good now will still look good a year from now. It will happen in “God's time,” not our time.

“The successes of evil are only temporary, and in the end, only the righteous will endure.” Artscroll Tehillim p. 14

Blessings,

Norton Lawellin