With all the chaos and confusion in the world, many are wondering where God is. And although many Christians trust that God is there because he promised never to leave his people, there are some who falter in their faith because they can not feel his presence or his love.
This brings me to the question posed by the title of this article: is it normal to be a Christian and still not be able to feel God sometimes? In summary, yes.
It is normal?
As Christians we are told to live by faith and not by sight. Faith is defined in the Bible as “The certainty of what is expected, the conviction of what is not seen” (see Hebrews 11: 1). Faith goes beyond what is obvious and can be seen, as well as what it feels like.
Men and women of faith had their own moments of weakness. David, for example, had his own times. In Psalm 13 we read how he expressed his longing for God’s salvation:
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
Psalm 13:1-4
Even the Lord Jesus was unable to feel His Father while He hung on the cross with the weight of our sin (see Isaiah 59: 2, 53: 4-6). Consider Matthew 27:46 which says:
46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
The faith that surpasses the emotions
It is normal that Christians can not feel God sometimes. Our relationship with Him is not based on a feeling; Nor does it force us to feel it. Faith goes beyond feeling – in fact, faith must dominate what we feel.
Consider what David declared at the end of Psalm 13, after crying out for salvation:
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 13:5-6
Consider also how the sons of Korah use their faith to fight against what they feel:9 Diré a Dios: Roca mía, ¿por qué te has olvidado de mí?
9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:9-11
Trust in God, not in feelings
Friends, we must learn to trust in the Lord, not in our feelings. We may not be able to feel it sometimes, especially when we are in trouble, but He will always be there as promised.
