It's a beautiful thing when God feels near, when you experience His presence and His grace buoys you up. When temptation doesn't seem to phase you and when you feel God's joy and peace. It's easy to walk with Jesus then. But what about those times when God seems very, very distant? When you feel abandoned and forsaken? When fear has hold of you and recollections of God's goodness are only faint memories?
If we could only pop a pill to fix this! A "God-pill!" A "GOS-PILL!" (So sorry- I couldn't resist!). Unfortunately, there is no such easy solution.
When we feel like this, it is easy to give up on reading God's Word. We figure, "Why try?" Slowly, we fade out of our connection to our faith community. No one calls us anyway! That's all the more reason to stay away, right?
Please don't allow yourself to think this way. Hard times come to us all. The psalmists were familiar with times of isolation, fear and even hopelessness. Read their journals- also known as the Book of Psalms, and you will see that though they sometimes rejoiced, they also sometimes moaned, asking God, "How long, Lord?" and "Why, Lord?" and "Where are You, Lord?"
No adventure is without its adversities. As Thomas a` Kempis said, "Many follow Jesus unto the breaking of the bread, but few to the drinking of the Cup of His Passion." If you are ready to bail on your Christian faith during difficult times, it may be because no one prepared you for the journey. This journey is arduous! Yet God loves to reveal Himself in the context of suffering and weakness. Don't despair! Lean into your faith community. Let them help you bring your pain and confusion to God. He will meet you.