C. S. Lewis wrote that, ‘God’s presence is not the same as the feeling of God’s presence. He may be doing the most for us when we think He is doing the least.’
I’ve just re-read the book of Job, a difficult book to tackle. It deals with the question of suffering and leaves us with many questions! Job, a God-fearing man, faces enormous difficulties, including bereavement, financial ruin and physical ill-health which is painful and debilitating. The age-old question ‘Why?’ runs through the book. Job’s ‘comforters’ repeatedly tell him there must be a direct connection between his sin and the misfortune he faces. Belief in a personal God means we have to wrestle with this question more than a person who believes suffering is simply random; Job faces the loss of reputation and the agonising internal battle between faith and doubt on top of all his external woes.
The only real clue we have as to the ‘why?’ of Job’s suffering comes at the start of the book, when we see Satan dismissing Job’s piety as merely the result of God’s blessings, and God allows misfortune in as a way of testing Job and proving his worth. Testing through trials does seem to be a common Bible theme.
C. S. Lewis’s quote reminds us that there is a difference between objective truth and our feelings. God has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5, Matt 28:18-20), but there are times in our lives when He feels far from us. We do not feel His presence. We feel nothing or even a deep sense of abandonment. Job had to wrestle with uncertainty, questions and doubt on top of his physical and emotional pain. Yet we are reminded at the end of the book that this was for a season only. Blessing did return when God did speak out of the storm.
God is working in all our circumstances for good (Rom 8:28), even if we cannot see or understand that at present. We wait quietly and trust in Him, regardless of our feelings.