Our lives are regularly affected in some degree by stress and anxiety. There are disappointments, failures, farewells, deaths, lost opportunities, accidents, disrupted personal relationships and so on. How many times have we felt unwanted, deliberately ignored or rejected? If God is loving and merciful, why do we have to experience all these things? Here are some thoughts inspired by the writings of Cecil Murphey.

God has promised that He will always be present with us, but knowing that, doesn't always make us feel better when we can't sense Him nearby.  During times when God seems absent, we may feel despair. But there is always hope we can cling to -- even in the middle of a void. Here are some ways we can cope when it seems as if God isn't there:

Realize that sometimes God deliberately chooses to stop communicating with people for a season, to accomplish certain purposes in their lives. Let us realize that there's a reason why God isn't responding to us right now, but let us not assume that He's punishing us. There are many positive reasons why God chooses to be silent for a time.

Let us remember the joy of sensing God's presence with us in the past, through answered prayers, encounters with His Holy Spirit, and more. Let us thank Him for His work in our life and continue praying regularly, even if we don't sense answers right away.

Let us study our motives for communicating with God, what we expect from Him, and why; ponder our relationship with God and think about ways we can focus more on who He is rather than just on what we would like from Him;

Read Scripture passages that describe various aspects of God's character -- such as His love, or His wisdom -- and assure ourselves that God will always interact with us in ways that reflect that perfect character;

Be diligent about seeking God.  Don't give up asking Him to respond to us, and know that He eventually will do so.  If we have grown complacent in our relationship with God, let this experience ignite a new passion in us to pursue Him more;

Don't try to force God to respond. Instead, accept that we can't manipulate Him, and that He doesn't owe us anything;

Embrace the deep, unconditional love that He freely gives, and ask Him to forgive us for trying to rely on our own power rather than His in any situation. Give God control of all aspects of our life and embrace the grace He offers us;

Allow ourselves to feel the pain the void has created, because by experiencing it, we can be transformed;

Focus on others as much as we can - praying for them and serving them. This will help us not to dwell too much on our own pain. And God might choose to meet us in the midst of our service;

Ask God to heal every part of us - even parts that we don't know need to be healed, or don't want to submit to Him;

As we wait for God to speak to us again, let us rearrange our priorities according to how we can best seek God.  Be patient, and in time, we'll encounter Him again.

Jesus knows our anguish and loneliness. It is in suffering that we develop our values. It is in our trials that we acquire the wisdom to know, to love and to honor Him.

However, it's not always easy to follow Christ. No matter how persistently we cling to Jesus, our faith is always tested.  Voices come from so many different directions friends, family, church leaders, television and newspapers. It is not always clear which one to listen.

When so many voices are clamoring for attention, we can only pray that we'll remain focus and recognize the voice of Jesus. We are justified by our faith, our private relationship with God, that what really counts.

By Tim Pedrosa

Tim