When God Seems Distant

Difficult circumstances in our lives are unavoidable. I hate that feeling of disbelief; it feels as if you've fallen out of an airplane and you forgot your parachute.
At those times, despite fervant and desperate prayers, it seems as if God is:
Playing a game
He's looking the other way
He just plain old doesn't care.

I see so many people who experience such confusion. They wonder who sucker punched them and why. What did they do that was so bad?
Not only is there pain about the actual situation; there is also pain in wondering why God didn't protect them or spare them completely.

At those times all we can do is hang on until the ride is over.

Then we get a chance to look back at the ordeal and reassess. What really happened and how we handled it. What we could have done better. What we did well.
Finally, we are able to recognize that God wasn't so distant after all; He has a perfect sense of timing. What we experienced was a moment of time in a process that God has orchestrated from the beginning.

Listen, I don't pretend to be an expert about trials and tribulations except for the fact that I've survived quite a few. And I witness many clients as they reel back in reaction to an unexpected hardship.

But I'm experienced enough to know that I don't really submit to God until I'm broken. And that's when I can finally get out of the way for Him to help me.

So it seems that God is not so distant after all. He's molding us and protecting us during the circumstances of our lives so we can acknowledge His guidance in our lives.
I really want to encourage you when you feel alone in your pain. Keep breathing and wait. Assume that God knows what's going on and everything has to play out.