Why Can't I See God in What I'm Going Through?

By Angela D. Thomas, DrPH, MPH, MBA

Because you have not looked for Him on purpose. God is present in your hardest situation, but seeing Him takes intention. When the disciples were staring straight at the proof and still missing it, Jesus said, handle Me, look at Me. The promise is simple: when you look for Him, you will see Him.

Let me ask you a hard one. When you are in the middle of something hard, whose hands do you look for first? Most of us stare at the problem so long and so hard that we never once lift our eyes to look for God in it. And then we wonder why we cannot see Him. Today I want to fix that, because the disciples had the exact same problem, and Jesus was patient enough to cure it.

Jesus Stood Right in the Room and They Still Missed Him

The two disciples from the Emmaus road ran seven miles back to tell the eleven that Jesus was alive. And while they were still mid sentence, Luke 24:36 (NKJV) says, "Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, 'Peace to you.'" He literally showed up in the room. And instead of rejoicing, they were terrified and figured they were looking at a ghost.

Read that and let it comfort you. These are the men who walked with Him for three years. They heard Him say over and over that He would die and rise. They had already gotten the report from the women and from the two on the Emmaus road. And He is standing right there and they still cannot see Him for who He is. If the disciples wrestled with unbelief while looking straight at the risen Lord, give yourself a little grace on the days you cannot see Him either.

Handle Me, Look at Me

Watch how gently Jesus handled their doubt. He did not blow up on them. Luke 24:39 (NKJV) says, "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." Look at Me. Touch Me. Handle Me. He showed them His hands and His feet. And when they still could not quite land it, He asked if they had any food and ate a piece of broiled fish and honeycomb right there in front of them, because a spirit does not sit down and eat. He was saying, I am really here, in the flesh, look at Me.

That is exactly what God is saying over your situation right now. Look at Me. My hand is right here. Stop staring only at the bill, the diagnosis, the empty side of the bed, and look for Me in the middle of it. Because here is the tool, plain and simple. When you look for Him, you will see Him.

Where Do I Even Look for God in Real Life?

Everywhere you actually live. When you look for Him in that doctor's office, you will see Him. When you look for Him in the relationship that is a whole mess, you will see Him. When you look for Him on the job you cannot stand, you will see Him. When you look for Him in the traffic that is testing your entire salvation, you will see Him. Someone I know has a phrase I love: look at God, do you see Him? It makes you go looking on purpose.

And He is so patient with us. Think about how many ways He tries to get your attention. He will tuck it into a line from the show you are watching. He will put it on page ten of the book you just picked up. He will let a video cross your timeline at the exact moment you needed those words. Sign after sign after sign, because He is determined to be seen by you. Luke 24:45 (NKJV) says, "And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures." He will do the same thing for you. He will keep working until you finally throw your hands up and say, okay God, I see You.

And can I be honest with you for a second. Sometimes He has to send me sign after sign because I know the Word and still forget it the minute life gets hard. We can quote Romans 8:28 on a good day and then completely forget that all things work together for our good the second the bottom falls out. We know to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding, and then a hard season hits and we lean all the way into our own understanding. That is exactly why He keeps opening our understanding, and it is exactly why we need each other, to keep reminding one another what God already said when we are too shaken to remember it ourselves.

Why does He try so hard? Because He has work for you to do, and He cannot afford for you to miss Him. Same reason He would not leave the disciples sitting in their doubt. He needs you to see Him so you can get up and be useful.

Take this to the Word yourself. Luke 24:36-49, Romans 8:28, Proverbs 3:5-6.

What This Means for You

Where in your life have you been so locked in on the problem that you never once stopped to look for God's hand in it?

Yesterday we found God walking beside you unseen. Today we learned to look for His hand on purpose. Next up, we close the whole series with what all this seeing and believing was actually for.

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.