Continuing with Ed Welch's thoughts on loneliness, he starts the second part of the essay with a passage from Deuteronomy:
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)
There it is. Our senses say that we are destitute; God reveals that we have spiritual food that is profoundly satisfying. Our goal is to hear the word of the Lord in such a way that it drowns out our less-informed emotions.
Moses stands in this tradition too. Though he wanted to experience God’s glory, what he really needed, and what he valued most, were the words of God that guaranteed God’s compassion, mercy and forgiveness (Exodus 34:6). This revelation is what wowed Moses and led him in worship.
Feed on the revealed promises of God rather than rely on an experience. Otherwise, life becomes one continual leap from one experiential lily pad to another.
This feature of the kingdom of God is announced most clearly at the end of Jesus’ earthly stay. What better time to map out the way of the kingdom. His disciples were just moments away from never seeing Jesus as a tangible presence in their earthly lives.
Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:27-29)
Jesus was saying nothing new. He was reminding his disciples, and us, that the way of his kingdom has always been this: when there is a competition between our senses and his promises, we rest in his promises, whether the situation is the Old Testament wilderness or all the variations of “in this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). The only thing Jesus adds is a tender reminder about how the way of faith is better than – more blessed than – the way of sight.
How many times have I wanted Jesus’ audible voice and physical presence? I would even have settled for some handwriting in the sky or on the living room wall. But there is a better way…Believe. Believe in the one who has spoken promises and has backed up all those promises with his self-sacrificial actions.
So many followers of Jesus feel spiritually handicapped because they don’t feel the presence of God. They feel blind and numb. All they can do is trust in the God who has spoken to them and, because of him, put one foot in front of the other, care about others, and faithfully slog through the mire of life. Well, it’s time to track these people down and give them a big fat kiss because they are the ones who are knocking on the door of the abundant life. They are learning to believe what they don’t feel, and they are blessed. They are the heroes we can emulate.
In a culture where feelings are used to determine one's gender, sexuality, and state of mind, the Bible offers an alternative: feelings ought not to rule us. Emotions are important and offer insights into our hearts, but emotions do not determine who we are or what we ought to do. Christians are to find this guidance and the peace that comes with it, in the living God, who we are to know by faith.
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