The neglect of God

The sun does not always shine brightly in our lives

I have written about this before. But I think the concept bears repeating. No matter how strong your faith, no matter how fervent your prayer, I think each one of us knows the truth of these words: God neglects us. And I am just as sure, we have all questioned it.

But we are not the first to think these thoughts. The prophets before us, the writer of the psalms, the mystics, even Jesus himself felt abandoned at one point or another.

So how do we deal with God's seeming neglect? 

I think I must first remember that I have an urgency God does not seem to share. My urgency usually stems from my desire to avoid all pain and anxiety. God's neglect is my time to realize, I have inner resources. These are my times of desert traveling and my own garden of Olives. For, as hard as God's neglect feels, I have come to realize that faith and trust and spiritual strength are built not by prayers answered, but by silence to prayers…a seeming neglect of God. In that silence, I am forced to find those hidden inner resources. And I readily admit it...I would never have found that treasure had my prayers been answered on my time schedule.

I need to remember this the next time I feel the neglect of God. Without understanding, I need to remind myself that God is present, even in neglect. I need to remember that strength is there, and not to panic. I also need to remember that I am going to learn something in this stressful situation that I did not know before. Most of all, I need to remember that the neglect of God is actually God drawing me deeper into Presence. For when I draw from my inner strength, I am actually drawing straight from the Divine Being.