TRUSTING IN A WITHDRAWING GOD

August 25th, 2008 | Category: General

“The Christian must trust in a withdrawing God.”
William Gurnall

In chapter four of his book, Soul Keeping, Howard Baker discusses the alternating cycle of consolation and desolation which he terms “rhythms of the soul.”  Consolation is simply the sense or knowledge of God’s presence, while desolation is God’s withdrawal of the sense or knowledge of His presence.   I found this interesting because I have experienced similar ‘cyclic rhythms’ in my own walk with God.  While I suspect that other Christians also experience a similar phenomenon in their walk with Christ, I haven’t come across it much in the Christian literature.  One of the few times I did, however, was in an essay by C. S. Lewis entitled, The Efficacy of Prayer.  Using unanswered prayer as an example, here is what Lewis had to say about God’s seeming ‘withdrawal’ of Himself as the believer matures:
And I dare not leave out the hard saying which I once heard from an experienced Christian: “I have seen many strik­ing answers to prayer and more than one that I thought miraculous. But they usually come at the beginning: before conversion, or soon after it. As the Christian life proceeds, they tend to be rarer. The refusals, too, are not only more frequent; they become more unmistak­able, more emphatic. (emphasis added)

While acknowledging this phenomenon as a mystery, Lewis then uses the example of our Lord Jesus to remind us that our dependence on spiritual ‘experiences’ may indeed be an indication of weakness, and not of strength. 

This very closely parallels my own experience.  Early in my Christian life, just after my conversion and for a few years afterward, God seemed to manifest His presence in powerful and unmistakable ways every few months.  As I began to grow in Him, it seems those ‘experiences’ have become much more rare.  However, I also have become aware of the fact that I am much less dependent on such experiences to sustain me.  I thank the Lord for His work in my life.  And I pray that He will continue to mold me and make me into a true man of God.

No comments yet. Be the first.

Leave a reply