130623 Wen God Seems Absent

What are you doing here?

Seriously.  Why are you reading this right now?

Have you ever felt like God was distant or even absent?  Sometimes we don’t say yes to this question out loud (or even to ourselves) because, on an intellectual side of things, we have heard and might believe that God is everywhere all the time.  So to say we’ve experienced distance or absence penetrates us.

Feeling God’s absence is normal.  There are a wide range of reasons and seasons in life that have an impact on our “closeness quotient” in our relationship with God.  Here is a sampling of factors that impact that feeling of intimacy…

• When we aren’t engaged in the relationship.
• When we are mad at God.
• When we have it all figured out.
• When we’ve reached a level of satisfaction in our lives – we’re comfortable.
• When we are no longer curious.
• When we have outgrown spiritual practices that worked for a season, but no longer satisfy as they once did.
• When we are afraid – our fear drowns out our faith.
• When we are discouraged.
• When we feel guilty or unworthy of God’s presence.
• When we’re sad.
• When we’re lonely.
• When we are in the middle of major changes in life.
• When we are working through some new ideas about God, life, or faith that are very new for us.
• When we are mainly serving ourselves.
• What would you add?

Judaism’s most beloved prophet, Elijah, was very familiar with this phenomenon, and the story found in 1 Kings 19 where Elijah seeks God’s presence is well known and often referenced.  Because it is an add story.

Remember, Elijah had very recently witnessed a showdown between God and the prophets of Baal where God came through in big ways.  Elijah was bold and unstoppable.  Then Queen Jezebel caught wind of what happened, and tweeted that she was going to have Elijah killed.  So, what do you do after God has worked through you powerfully when you face the next threat?  Run and ultra marathon across the length of the country.  It would be like starting in Napa and running to the grapevine (not the ones in everybody’s backyard, but the stretch of Interstate 5 that winds you up and over the pass to drop you in LA).  He was that afraid of his life.  He knew he would find God in LA.  I mean Mt. Sinai – where God appeared to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments.  Elijah’s decision was to get really close to God when he
knew he was in trouble.  Where could be closer than that holy mountain?

Atop the famous mountain God did show up for Elijah, asking him an interesting question: What are you doing here, Elijah?

I thought God knew everything.  Why, then, was he asking Elijah why he was there if he knew what was up the whole time?

The questions aren’t for God, they are for us, that’s why.  Asking the question made Elijah notice what he was doing up there on that mountain.  Asking the question implies that there may be something wrong with the picture.

I think God wanted Elijah to come to grips with his expectations of what God showing up might look like, and realize that his expectations might actually limit his experience of God more than help.

How have you expected god to show up in the future based on your past experiences?

I also think God wanted Elijah to rethink his passion for jogging.  Over 300 miles to meet up with God?  Seriously?  Did he already forget God had shown up on Mount Carmel?  It would turn out that Elijah’s fears and assumptions were wrong regarding his loneliness.  His fears caused him to exaggerate his false expectations which led him to despair.  Elijah learned an important lesson in answering that question.

So, how is your closeness quotient with God right now?  Are you running to your assumptions and expectations, or are you open to God really, truly being present where you are right now on your journey?

What are you doing here?

To Process…
Describe a time in your life when you felt most closely connected to God. How did it feel? Who did you tell about it?

Describe a time in your life when God seemed distant or even absent. How did it feel? Who did you tell about it?

Respond to this quote:
Today people still look for evidence of God’s transforming presence in the church and in the world. When they find that evidence, they often turn toward it, seeking to be close to the God who is obviously at work changing lives in such dramatic ways. They are drawn because they want to be close to God, and often they seek their own transformation and salvation. The congregations where signs and wonders are evident in the congregation that finds new people coming to be touched by that transforming presence of God. In Acts we read of transformation that leads from sinfulness to holiness of life. The kind of transformation that leads from selfishness to sharing, from uselessness to usefulness, from sickness to health, and from death to life is the transformation many seek. This transformation is promised in the Gospels by the One who came that all might have life and have it abundantly. – Rueben P. Job

Respond to this quote:
To think that God could put an idea into someone’s mind and that person could comprehend that idea and immediately act upon it with unquestioning determination is the most remarkable wonder of all! A second wonder is that God has given all of us this capacity. God communicates with all of us! We get little nudges – feelings that this or that should be done or note done; we get hunches and leadings, signs and signals, and sometimes direct messages. – From Yearning to Know God’s Will by Danny E. Morris



How do you interpret God’s absence and presence in your life right now?  What do you sense God asking you?  If God asked you – What are you doing here? – how would you respond?