Have You Ever Asked Yourself These Questions?
"Is there any place I can go to be out of your sight?"
Have you ever experienced a season where you weren't entirely sure God was still hanging around with you anymore? If you have felt a gap between yours and God's Presence, then you know how challenging a season like that can be.
In many spiritual writings, a season such as I describe here, might be referred to as a “dark night of the soul”. It also might be termed a “wilderness” season. It may come on very suddenly, or settle around you, like a fog rolling in.
(If this is an unfamiliar experience for you, stick with me for a minute⏤there's something here for you too.)
Whatever you call this season, there are seasons of our pilgrimage journey that can feel a little (or a lot) lonely. Season's where God's presumed absence, or deafening silence can feel disorienting and confusing. Perhaps, even frightening.
As is true with most pilgrimages we make in life, while we have a destination in mind, and even a charted route, inevitably, detours, road closures, and distractions come up. Storms roll in, leaving us running for cover, heat waves threaten to sap all of our energy. Blisters, not enough water, sickness and all manner of unforeseen, unplanned obstacles will arise. We may not end up going the way we'd planned. Roads diverge, right? We have choices to make that we didn't anticipate along the way.
The thing we can hold on to is the Truth that, whether God chooses and pre-determines the specific path of our personal pilgrimage, or the “ordering of our steps” means something different, we can know for sure that God walks intimately with us. All of the way. Always.
We can know and trust that wherever we set our foot, we are seen, and deeply loved. There is no place we can wander that is out of the infinite arms-length reach of our Creator.
Not in the depths of the sea…
Not to the heights of the sky…
Not to the depths of the underground…
Up, down, sideways, inside out and beyond, God is already there.
No pilgrim is promised a smooth path, but we are promised to be in the Presence of God, no matter way we go.
Whichever way your path feels to you right now, be it difficult and wearying, or light and gentle, we pray that you would be encouraged that wherever, whenever, God walks with you.
