The Withdrawal of God's Manifest Presence

[The devil's] cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do [God's] will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys. (CS Lewis. The Screwtape Letters. Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. New York. 1982. Page 39.)

I have been meditating on the story in Time magazine about Mother Teresa's "long, dark night of the soul.” Before beginning her ministry to the dying in Calcutta, Mother Teresa experienced the manifest presence of God, especially Jesus. Sometimes this was during the eucharist (communion) or in prayer, or at other times.

Shortly after beginning her ministry this manifest presence was withdrawn, and for most of the rest of her life, she did not experience it. The Time’s article quotes letters she wrote during this time period, including one in this passage:

...In a letter to a spiritual confidant, the Rev. Michael van der Peet, that is only now being made public, she wrote with weary familiarity of a different Christ, an absent one. "Jesus has a very special love for you," she assured Van der Peet. "[But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand."

Protestants, in general, and Charismatics/Pentecostals, in particular, do not have much of a theology/doctrine about God’s withdrawal and how to deal with it. I cannot remember any pastor I have ever had saying much about the topic, let alone doing a full teaching on the subject.

CS Lewis, in "The Screwtape Letters," touches on the subject of God withdrawing His presence from us as being a natural part of spiritual life, but that is all. He makes the point that is all part of what he calls the “law of undulation” where all humans experience cycles of emotion, energy, and ability.

Philippians 3:7-10 (NASB95)
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

Philippians 3:10 (Amplified)
10 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death...

I love this passage from Philippians. We all have verses or passages from the Bible that become "theme" passages for our lives. This is one of mine. I have spent a long time meditating on this passage and praying about it. The only thing that I have not loved about it has been in verse 10, "the fellowship of His sufferings." I know what Jesus suffered. I am not sure that I want those sufferings.

Jesus sufferings included the scorn and rejection of the Pharisees and Sadducees (the leaders of God's people at that time). He was betrayed by one friend and denied by another. He was abused and slandered in front of the Sanhedrin. His sufferings also included his scourging, the "Via Doloroso," and the pain of the crucifixion. But one of the "sufferings" that I have always missed is the separation that occurred on the cross between Him and His beloved Father.

Matthew 27:46 (NASB 95)
46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Quoting Ps 22:1)

Matthew 27:46 (Amplified)
46 And about the ninth hour (three o'clock) Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?"—that is, "My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me [leaving Me helpless, forsaking and failing Me in My need]?"

As the sin of all mankind poured out onto His Son while on the cross, God the Father turned His face from Jesus, removing His manifest presence from Him. How the “triunity” of God managed this I do not know. How God manages to withdrawn His manifest presence from a believer, from His sons, from His brothers, I do not know. I just know that it happened on the cross and it happens today to us. This has happened to me. And in this, I experience and share (in a very diluted way) some of the most intense suffering Christ underwent.

Hebrews 5:14. (NASB 95)
But solid [spiritual] food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Hebrew 11:1 (NASB 95)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

When this withdrawal happens, I can no longer sense God. That is, I can no longer detect Him with my eyes, ears, or “heart” (my emotions). But He has not left me.

John 14:16. (NASB 95)
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.

So what is my response to His withdrawal?

First, I ask Him to search me, “and see if there be any hurtful way in me.” (Psalm 139:23-24) And then I need to believe that if there is, He will let me know. In other words, a response in faith, not a reaction to my emotions.

So what next, if He is still silent? I know that the Holy Spirit is given to me, forever. My response to God’s withdrawal is faith. I believe God, and He reckons it to me as righteousness. (Romans 4:3) Even when He has withdrawn, I need to believe that He is still there, still hears and answers prayer, still values my worship and my life, and still has love for me “which surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19).

And then, I need to be obedient to what He has already called me to do. Mother Teresa continued caring for the destitute and dying.

Eventually, we cycle out of our “desert” or “winter” periods and back into times of joy, growth, life.

Our local gathering of believers has recently experienced a good deal of pain, loss and grief. I think that we spent at least a year in a corporate state of shock. And as people began to come out of the shock, some decided to leave.

I believe that we have experienced, corporately, a withdrawal of God’s manifest presence. This has been due, in part, to sin, and times of repentance have come. But I think also that we corporately cycled into, and are now cycling out of a winter period.

One of the words spoken over us at the beginning of summer had to do with yielding to and waiting on “the unforced rhythm of God.” Recently, there has been an upswing in people joyfully sharing the good things that God has done in their live. From celebrating 30 (or 33) years of marriage, to healing of physical ailments, to being set free from bondages. The elders have also been theming talks on grace.

Trust and Obey
Text: John H. Sammis, 1846-1919
Music: Daniel B. Towner, 1850-1919

1. When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.
(Refrain)

http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh467.sht