Where is God Now?

Have you felt like God isn’t there for you?

Have you been doubting your faith lately?

Pause. And ask the simple question of “why?”

Is it because you really believed that God was going to do something for you because you prayed about it and you felt like God was leading you to a certain thing/job/person, but it didn’t work out?

I’ve been there before, friend, and it’s hard. It’s especially hard when that second part comes into play, where we really believe that God is leading us to something or someone, and yet it doesn’t work out. Or at least, it doesn’t work out the way we wanted it to. That’s the key, isn’t it?

I’m here to tell you something that’s hopefully encouraging. Just because something doesn’t go the way you wanted it to or even believed it would, doesn’t mean that God wasn’t leading you to go there or be a part of that person’s life. It just means that God is telling us to wait, because something better is in store if we don’t make rash decisions based on our emotions.

I know that’s difficult. That word, patience, has been resurfacing in my life time and time again over the past two years. But last night, I was reminded of something vital. We may not realize the journey that God is currently having us on until after it’s over. Right now, you may be struggling. Or, you may be just in a season of mundane, unsure of what God wants to do with you. Both are difficult, but God uses every situation, person, and season of our lives for His divine purpose.

I was studying the voyage of the Israelites yesterday with a small group of people, and one woman remarked, “I don’t know what God was doing by making them circle back around and take such a complicated route, especially because of course God could bring them straight to the Promise Land if He wanted to, but I do know that it happened the way it did for a reason because God was leading them.”

If you need a refresher, the Israelites had been freed from slavery and were on a 40-year journey through the wilderness. If anyone got impatient with God, it would make sense for them to have, huh? We get annoyed by waiting a few months, or possibly years, but I’ll bet that most of us haven’t been waiting on God for a specific thing for almost half a century.

You may wonder why God seemed to have abandoned them. But here’s the thing, it wasn’t God who abandoned them. It was the Israelites who abandoned God.

God was faithfully providing for them each day, with food and guiding them in the form of a pillar of smoke. (Wouldn’t it be nice if God led us around with a pillar of smoke today? Decision making would be so easy!) And of course, it was thanks to God that they got out of slavery in the first place, because of the plagues God inflicted on the Egyptians for treating human beings so horribly.

However, when the Israelites got to the Promised Land, they doubted that they would be able to defeat the current people group there and they didn’t believe that God would provide for them, despite all He had done for them in the past.

That’s why God allowed them to wander around for so long. Not because He wanted them to suffer, but because He wanted to teach them to trust Him.

Ouch, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been there before. In that space of waiting, in that time where God wanted me to only focus on Him. Looking back, I was definitely in one journey of my life during my sophomore year of high school. God took away all my distractions– I was struggling in school, I lost a good portion of my friends, and I was struggling with my mental health. I was so confused as to why all these things were happening to me. But looking back, God was preparing me for something greater. God was using that time to draw me closer to Him, through prayer, mentors, and journaling. Then, I hit a major turning point in my life.

I was going through a confirmation program at my church and it was the Saturday before Confirmation Sunday. I was a new driver, and I misjudged a turn, causing me to be in a serious car accident.

In some ways, this would’ve been the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. But God refocused me, and instead of causing me to look at the situation as just one more wrong thing happening in my life, God used this event to strengthen my testimony. I was able to share a testimony the next day that was reflective of God bringing me through the storm, and then reminding me to trust Him, and finally bringing me to a stable place once more.

I have to constantly remind myself of that journey as I now venture through a new one, yet another season of waiting and figuring out how God wants to use me in the future. God eventually led me to the right people, gave me the motivation to improve my grades, and provided mentors in my life to help me work through my personal difficulties (although we all can struggle sometimes, and that’s okay, as long as we don’t just stay “stuck” and we do what we know will help us find peace and restore our minds).

Last night, I was in a conversation with my mom, and she actually said something quite profound. We were discussing some people in my life who I’ve been worried about recently because I’m afraid that they are making decisions that will hurt them in the future. My mom said, “A lot of times in life, we grow impatient. But if we had just waited, then God would’ve given us something better.”

That really got me thinking. What if today, instead of doing something impulsive, we pray? What if we reach out to someone who is a healthy influence in our lives when we are feeling weak instead of turning to someone or something that hurts us? What if we pray for peace of mind instead of an immediate outcome?

Today, think back to a past journey in your life. How has God shown you that He is the One in control and that He’s got this?

Keep listening to God, no matter what. If you do as God leads, no matter the outcome, it was what you were meant to do. And maybe someday it will all make sense. We have something even better than the pillar of smoke. We have the Holy Spirit–God– inside of us, helping us make wise choices each and every day! We are not going through our journeys alone.

God loves you so much and He has an amazing plan for you. We’ve just got to wait and make the most of the season that we are in.

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31