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The Bible reveals God is everywhere at all times, so you know, with your intellect, that God is always with you. Sometimes you're especially aware of his presence—like when a truck almost hits your skidding car or when you're worshiping him intently at church.

Other times, perhaps for long periods, you seem unable to feel God's presence. You search your heart for sin and confess what you find. But God seems absent. You continue in regular worship and prayer. Still, God seems absent. At times, God may bring this sense of his absence to teach you not to depend on what you do and what you feel, but on God himself. As you endure this dark time, trusting God even when you can't feel him, you know that eventually you'll again enjoy feelings of his love.

Is it possible to offend God so completely that he refuses to make himself available to you? Yes, because this is what the people of Jerusalem did in Ezekiel's era. Chapter 8 records a horrifying picture of spiritual leaders using God's holy temple to worship pagan gods. Then, in one of the most tragic scenes of Ezekiel, the Lord's glory lifts from that temple and departs.

This passage teaches you should never take God's presence for granted (as if you can turn him on or off). You must value that holy presence—whether or not you can feel it at that moment in time. (See also 2 Chronicles 29:20-36; Romans 15:14-21; Ephesians 3:14-21; Colossians 3:10, 11.)

Good Words to Remember:
Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them. Ezekiel 10:18, 19.

Today's Challenge:
How do you treat God, even when you can't "feel" his presence?

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.

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