Loosing God In The Midst Of Our Busyness

One of our great difficulties in life is that we try to understand Christ and relate to Him in terms of time and space.

When we talk about being near someone or looking at someone, we think in terms of our eyes and ears and distance. But time and space are only relevant to us as finite beings. God is everywhere and feels all, which is why the psalmist declares, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face?” Psalms 139:7. If that’s the case, we must conclude that our seeing the Lord has to do with our spirit, our inner man, rather than our natural eyes. That’s the reason Paul, in his incredible prayer for the believers, prayed that “The eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what the hope of his calling . . .” (Ephesians 1:18).

When a seminarian is studying for the priesthood, The blessings can be many. You may have godly professors that you can learn from. You will spend hours upon hours researching and gaining knowledge of the Scriptures. You can study Greek, Hebrew and Latin, philosophy and history, ancient culture and so forth. You can be a very good student. But somehow, at the end of all the learning, spiritually you can find yourself dying.

Many a seminarian found themselves loosing Jesus. They studied, researched and learned all about Him, but somehow somehow they loose Him. They can go on to pastor a parish and say the mass several times a day, but still finding themselves losing Jesus even in the midst of much ministry. Sure, here and there you may see Jesus. Here and there you will embrace Him. Here and there you will weep before Him. But it is not a consistent thing. You become weary, wanting to give up on the Priesthood.

The truth is, we can learn all the doctrines and be orthodox and traditional in our convictions yet still live with emptiness. Our survival and hope are not based on how much we know or how much we can do. Our survival is in the person of Jesus.

It is during that time that you can begin to pursue and embrace the Lord again. It is during your “dark night” of your soul that you can begin living again and loving Him each day. He will no longer be distant and far off, but near and continually before your eyes. We need to come to the realization that we have only one need. That need is Jesus.

It says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.” In the Scriptures we can see the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we gaze upon Him we see the nature, the character and the presence of the Lord. As we gaze upon Him and meditate on Him from the depth of our hearts, the Holy Spirit within us begins to transform us and change us from within. Our attitude changes, our feelings change, our evaluations change and our decisions change. Our external circumstances may stay the same, but inside we are transformed. Our eyes have been opened, and we see our risen Savior. It’s no longer despair and melancholy and hopelessness—but rather hope, strength and confidence that come from the Lord. It is the one who seeks that finds. It is the one who knocks that the door is opened to.