My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Psalm 77:6-9

Depending on where you are in your life, the questions Asaph poses could be rhetorical or very real. We all have highs and lows, times when we feel God is in another universe and times we can feel His presence in the same room. No two individuals are alike in this regard.

Our goals in the midst of the confusion shouldn’t be to minimize the pain or distance, though that certainly is a natural reaction. It’s much better to ask God what He wants us to learn from the experience. Chances are good that when we ask that question, we are learning more than we think. We just don’t see it we’re in the midst of it.

Anyone who drives in the interior of Alaska is familiar with ice fog. Those who drive in torrential down pours in the Lower 48 understand this concept too. Under those conditions you are concentrating 100% on seeing 10 feet in front of you because a car could easily be 20 feet in front. You tune out everything to the left, right, or back of you. I was in such a storm before and someone later asked if I had seen the moose only 5 feet from our car. I hadn’t seen a thing.

It’s like that with our learning as well. Things are happening all around us but we have to focus on getting through the problem. You don’t know how you got through but you did, and you can tell others about it now.

Of course I recognize it’s very easy to write these things when I’m not in the midst of the storm. The storm for some of you will be over soon. Keep focusing, keep concentrating on the One who will keep you through it all.

Your storm will not last forever.