Greetings All,
This weeks 'thought' comes to you from a classic written in 1659 by two Dutch pastors: Gisbertus Voetius and Johannes
Hoornbeeck. It's title, "Spiritual Desertion," speaks of the common Christian experience its pages address.
Both authors affirm the words of Thomas A'Kempis who states: "I have
never known a godly person who did not at times sense the removal of grace." Says Hoornbeeck, "All those who want to live a godly life in Christ have to expect
such oppressions" (ie: times when the soul feels like it has been deserted by God). They affirm the quote of Otto Casmannus who wrote: "No one becomes saved who is not trained in this battle, before, or in death." 
Anyone who has merely read their Bibles knows how common such an experience is, since they will have read the words of such people as: Job (Job 6-7); David (in Psalm 13, 32, 38, 39, 42, 44); Asaph (Psalm 77); Heman (Psalm 88); Jeremiah (Jer. 15:15-20); Paul (II Cor. 1:8-10); Peter (Luke 22:62) and even Jesus Himself (Matt. 27:46). 
Most all
believers - if they are honest and don't feel the need to play the part of the superChristian - will
admit to wrestling with this common experience to one degree or
another, at one time or another. Thus I offer their words as comfort to
those who may be in that place of feeling deserted by God, or may know a
friend who is in that place.
I have taken the liberty
to cut and paste, update the language, paraphrase awkward sentences and
insert explanatory phrases. I trust you will find the
thoughts helpful. Enjoy.
"No
matter how great and heavy you feel your trial and abandonment may be,
it is not a complete, total abandonment from God. It is not an
abandonment of all grace, but only the feeling of grace. You do not feel
the grace as you would like. But really, is it so serious to miss this
feeling when you keep the greatest--the grace itself? You do not
really lose God. As with your stomach or your heart, even though you do
not always consciously feel them, don't you still have them?
What do you think -- can that feeling not become somewhat shocked,
darkened and burdened?... If not, think about Christ! Consider (although
he did not deserve this) that the feeling of his Father's grace was becoulded and burdened completely -- for you!
And since this
suffering you experience concerns only the feeling of grace, and you
have kept what is of greatest weight and all that counts for your
salvation, can you not be satisified and comforted? Since God left you
so much, and especially that which is of greatest weight, should you be
ungrateful when you miss only that which is off less importance [the
mere loss of feeling his grace and presence]?...
God cannot completely leave you. He shall not and will not do so.
God's gracious favor and salvation cannot be destroyed... That God's
grace in the soul cannot be destroyed is shown in I John 3:9, 'for his seed remains in him'; or John 10:28: 'I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand'; or John 14:17, 'He sends another Comforter who will abide with
you forever'; or John 6:39-40, 'This
is the will of the Father who sent me, that I shall lose none of those
that he has given me, but raise them up on the last day. And this is
the will of him who sent me, that everyone who looks to the Son and
believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the
last day.' Or consider as well Psalm 37:24: 'Though the righteous fall, he shall not be cast away, for the Lord upholds his hand.' [We see the same in Philippians 1:6 and Romans 8:28-39.]
The beleaguered soul cannot reach such a state that it would be rejected by God or could completely fall from
grace. After all, it earlier shared in God's grace and bore the certain evidences
of such grace. The beleaguered soul must remember this -- it may not have a righteous and strong desire for grace now, but it truly enjoyed this grace earlier.
The soul can draw comfort from this knowledge: Whatever happens, even
if heaven and earth were moved, yes, even if the terrors of hell sneered
at this one soul, yet it would be kept and would surely remain God's
possession, even if it went through the valley of the shadow of death...
In view of what you experienced earlier, you can calmly go into the
future because what you are going through now is only a temporary black
cloud for the hour of trial. And since God never regrets that he granted
his grace to us, you will soon again have what
you desire so heartily.
The saints of old comforted their souls in present times of spiritual
desertion by reflecting back on former days of grace. In light of the
fact that his soul was downcast, one of the 'Sons of Korah' asks in
Psalm 42:2 -'Where can I go to meet with God?' He confesses that his
tears have been his food day and night, and that people are asking him, 'Where is your God?' And what does he do to comfort himself? 'He says these words: 'These
things I remember as I pour out my soul; how I used to go with the
multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of
thanksgiving among the festive throng.' 
Former
proofs of grace stand as anchors for the soul and comfort
us during present states of affliction when we suffer the sense of God's
absence. Remember this: God never leaves your soul completely,
even though it may appear that he, for a time, hides his face, and you
do not experience the feeling of his loving favor. Truly the Lord does
not forsake his beloved; they are kept unto eternity...
Consider as well that these trials [of desertion] come only to God's
children. Other burdens are general -- many of the same things happen
to the righteous and the ungodly. But this
cross is sanctified only for the pious; for God's beloved. Other people
do not know this cross; it is foreign to them. The believer has many
burdens in common with unbelievers; but the sense of abandonment by
God is one he does not have in common with them... And thus when one
experiences this sense of abandonment, we can judge that his state with
God is good. For only God's children are chastized with this rod."
I conclude with the words of a song which helped me when I was going through one such extended time of desertion. They are from the group "Selah" who sing to the struggling soul: "Hang on, a little bit longer... my God will never let you down." Such times do end, although when you're stuck in the midst of one of them its easy wonder if (or when) they will.
With you in those occasional times of struggle,
Pastor Jeff
