“Hey, daddy, watch this!” The daring declaration every child screams right before they do this miraculous stunt only a dad could be happy with. If you might be a parent, you may have likely needed to stop all the pieces you might be doing to look up, give that infant your full attention, and show some form of recognition of how enamored you might be with their skills and abilities.
Are we actually any different? While we may not all the time seek the accolades of our earthly fathers, as believers, our hearts yearn for the approval and a focus of our Heavenly Father. That’s because we were created in a way that longs to intimately know our God (Jeremiah 29:13), and we desperately seek His acceptance; it’s innate in all of us (Romans 15:7). In other words, we’re all His children just screaming from the deepest desires of our hearts, “Dad, watch this! Did you see me? I’m doing this for you. Aren’t you happy with me?”
But, what concerning the times when you find yourself striving to do “all the best things” and loudly (or possibly quietly) craving for God’s full-on attention, only to be met with the sting of silence or worse yet, the sensation of harsh rejection?
The Truth About Dark Seasons
Let’s address the difficulty of wavering faith, first. You know the times when faith feels forced, uncomfortable, lacks authenticity, or appears to be spiraling uncontrolled. We’ve all been there. Maybe you might be there now. It’s those strange seasons when God appears distant or life becomes so burdensome, hope gets lost within the shuffle of circumstances.
Just because we’re Christ-followers doesn’t mean we robotically live “joyfully” ever after, making impacts wherever we go, glorifying God, and never doubt or query our faith. In fact, it is usually in these times once we are demanding God’s attention that two things generally occur. We are quietly growing spiritually (even when it doesn’t feel prefer it) and we gain the attraction of the deceiver!
Darling friend, when you end up in a dark season, wholeheartedly in search of God to no avail, I invite you to grab your Bible and sit with me. You aren’t alone, and I don’t say that frivolously, because I’m on this dark season with you. It’s tough, I do know, you possibly can admit that. But together, let’s have a heart-to-heart and discover three insightful truths which will just set your soul free!
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Matt Henry Gunther
