This is described a number of different ways by people; I have experienced it myself. The most apt description is "dark night of the soul," often lasting more than just one night.
People who grow close to God, where God's Love and Light shines through them, often have a period in their lives when the warmth and Peace of God's Love just seems to ... disappear.
We wonder if we did something wrong. We think we stepped off the path and have walked away from God. We believe God is mad at us and left. All we are left with are questions and a feeling of being abandoned and alone.
The questions loom large in our heart and mind. What happened?
Our Faith waivers. We start to doubt ourselves. We start to doubt the works of our hands, minds and hearts. We start to doubt our relationship with God. We may even doubt the Love that God has for us.
When we find ourselves in this situation, we are not alone. God has never abandoned us. The truth is that God couldn't be CLOSER to us than in this moment. For God is working in and through us.
Many are familiar with the "Footprints" poem. At the end, where we see only one set of footprints in the sand, God carried us.
The reason we cannot feel God close is that our perceptions are focused outwards. The adversary takes advantage of our limited perceptions to convince us that we HAVE been abandoned by God. Or that we have done something so wrong, that God has washed His hands of us.
Even Christ felt the emotional, mental and spiritual anguish of this moment as He hung on the cross: "Why have you abandoned me?"
Do not believe the lies.
God is with us no matter what we think, no matter what we say, no matter what we do. Christ walks into the deepest of our hells to be with us, and share with us. Do you think we would be abandoned as we strive to draw closer to God?
God works in ways we cannot see. Those who don't walk away from God when we find ourselves in this dark period, emerge into a much brighter period of their life.
God has big plans
Designed just for you
God works within
And through you too
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