2009 – Day 206.July 26 – When God Seems Absent

Passage of the Day: Esther 6: 12 – 14 … 12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.” 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

My Journal for Today: This will not be a long devotional; because we’ve covered this on several occasions this year … in the life of Moses, … in the life of Elijah, … and now in the life of our dear heroine, Esther and her father figure, Mordecai. But obviously Swindoll feels strongly that the point needs to be made once again for his readers; and I don’t disagree. His point is said rather succinctly; and in his words, "When God seems absent, He’s present.”

And I know that any Christian reading this has experienced the feeling that his/her prayers were bouncing off the ceilings or that God simply had abandoned us with what John MacArthur calls the “wrath of abandonment,” especially since we’ve become a culture which seems to be living in fulfillment of Romans 1: 18 -32 or 2nd Tim. 3: 1 – 9 - linked for your study . And if you’re reading this, these days you certainly see that God seems to be letting our world loose to be influenced by Satan and his world, … like He is abandoning us to our own flesh.

But as Swindoll points out here again, God may have a plan of setting a culture aside or letting mankind experience the just rewards of their own actions for a season of life. However, we know from His own promises that our Lord will never forsake His remnant of faithful ones. If He did, our God would be a liar; and as you can read the truth of Numbers 23: 19, God is not like a man. God NEVER LIES! And so when we read Deut. 31: 6 or Hebrews 13: 5, which I hope you have memorized or internalized. We know that God is never absent, even when He might seem to be so.

Take heart, my dear one, our God is on the move; and He’s going to do what is right by any decision we make; and Haman, in today’s scenario, was about to find that out as he was summoned before the King where, if you read on in Esther’s story, he would be uncovered for the scoundrel he had been. And Esther and Mordecai were about to be rewarded for their faithfulness as well. Remember the truth of the faith chapter in Hebrews 11, verse 6, which states God’s truth that … without faith it is impossible to please [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So, my friend, as fellow Christians, we must have faith and realize that when things seem down and out or when God seems absent, hold on to the reality, that He has not forsaken us. He may be trying to show the world that we can’t do without Him; but He’s always there and He’s always acting to bring His justice to light. Hold, my friend; … God is moving in our lives.

My Prayer for Today: Oh, Lord, I don’t understand your plans at times; but I know you’re there for me, … for all of us who believe in You. Amen