Where Is God When I Can't Feel Him With Me?

By Angela D. Thomas, DrPH, MPH, MBA

He is closer than you think. On the day two heartbroken disciples felt the most alone, Jesus was walking right beside them the whole time, they just did not recognize Him. God is often present in the very season you would swear He is absent from. The key is to invite Him to stay.

Let me talk to the woman who feels like God went quiet on her. You are still praying, still showing up, but you cannot feel Him anywhere. The heavens seem like brass. And in all that silence you have started to wonder if He is even there. I want to walk a seven mile road with you today, because two disciples felt exactly that way, and they were dead wrong about His absence.

The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus

That same Sunday, two disciples were walking from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles out. They were sad. They were rehearsing everything that had happened, the trial, the beatings, the cross, all of it. And Jesus Himself walked right up and started walking with them, but their eyes were held so they did not know it was Him.

Think about that. They are talking about Jesus, grieving Jesus, aching for Jesus, and Jesus is right there in the conversation and they cannot see it. They actually call Him a stranger. They ask if He is the only person in town who somehow does not know what happened. And He plays right along and asks, what things? The most patient man who ever lived let them pour out their broken hearts to Him without rushing to reveal Himself.

That is what I need you to catch. Sometimes the very God you are crying out for is walking the road right next to you, and your grief has your eyes held so you cannot recognize Him. His silence is not always His absence. Sometimes He is that close, and you just cannot see Him yet.

Why Didn't They Recognize Jesus Sooner?

Because their eyes did not open until they invited Him in. As they got near the village, Jesus acted like He was going to keep right on walking. He will not force Himself on you. But watch what the disciples did. Luke 24:29 (NKJV) says, "But they constrained Him, saying, 'Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.' And He went in to stay with them." They asked Him to stay. And because they asked, He stayed.

Abide means to remain, to dwell, to not depart. They looked at who they still thought was a stranger and said, do not leave, stay with us. And that one invitation changed everything.

What Opens Our Eyes to See God Again?

Two things opened their eyes, and both are available to you right now. First, the Word. On that road, before they ever recognized Him, He opened the Scriptures to them. And afterward they said, Luke 24:32 (NKJV), "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" Their hearts were already burning before their eyes ever opened. The Word was doing its work while they were still confused.

Second, the fellowship. Luke 24:30-31 (NKJV) says, "Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight." He broke bread, the same way He did at the last supper, and right there at the table of fellowship their eyes flew wide open.

So here is the tool. Invite Him to abide. When you cannot feel Him, do not just sit and hope the feeling floats back. Invite Him. Ask Him to stay. Open the Word even when your heart feels numb, because the Word will start a fire in you before your eyes ever adjust. Sit down at the table with Him in prayer and real fellowship, because that is where the recognizing happens. He will keep walking if you let Him. But if you say stay, He stays.

And do not rush past how patient He was on that road. He let them get it all the way wrong. He let them call Him a stranger to His own face. He did not snatch off the blindfold and demand they recognize Him on the spot. He walked at their pace, He listened to their sadness, and He taught them the Scriptures until their hearts finally caught up to the truth. He will be that patient with you too. He is not standing over you tapping His foot because you cannot feel Him yet. He is walking your seven miles right beside you.

And one more thing from that road. They almost missed Him because He came as a stranger. So be kind to the stranger. Be open to the unexpected person, the random conversation, the interruption you did not plan for. You never know when God has dressed His own presence up in a face you did not recognize.

Take this to the Word yourself. Luke 24:13-32.

What This Means for You

Have you actually invited God to stay in this season, or have you been waiting to feel Him before you make Him any room?

Yesterday we sent you out to plant a seed while afraid. Today we found God walking right beside you in the season you thought He left. Next up, how to actually see His hand when you are staring dead at a hard situation.

I teach God's Word weekly inside the SheShed Community, and this is exactly the kind of teaching that hits different when you're in the room for it. The replay of this teaching, “The Awesome Reveal,” is available inside the community as well. Come sit with us.