Where's your line at?

On Saturday we went to a conference and heard a really awesome and challenging talk. The main thing that I got from it was "where is your line? in other words, what do you stand on NO matter what?"

Often as Christians we can get a bit flaky and forget everything they believe about God when things get tough. Such as when God is silent or things are a little bit tough and you feel like God has left you. This is when we hit panic stations, fall apart, we feel like we're in a puddle of mud and think/ sometimes believe that God has left us. This is wrong.. in the bible, Gods word promises that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us, "Deuteronomy 3:16" This is something we should stand on when the paw-paw hits the fan.

Where's my line at?

After some thought I starring thinking about what it is that I stand on when God seems distant. It's things like, He will never leave me, he will work the good in all situations, he goes before me, he faithful, he is trustworthy... I know all of this because the bible tells me this. There are tons of verses and stories of where this is illustrated. Not only do I know this from the bible, but also from personal experience. I have experienced Gods faithfulness, trust etc. These are the things I choose to stand on because I know God, I have a relationship with him where I look back and go - yes.. you are all these things and not all the things we feel.

Consolation  and Desolation

This brings me to the second thing that I grasped on Saturday at the conference. The speaker was saying how we go through consolation, when we hear from God all the time and when things are great, God feels close and all that other "cushy" and "nice" feelings we get. The speaker explained that this is a gift from God, especially for new Christians as they begin to experience God.

We also experience desolation, which is when we don't feel God. I put feel in bold, because we may feel like God is far away, but actually He's not. He's right there, like his word says. This is when we need to stand on what we believe. The speaker explained this stage as a gift because "God trusts us enough to let us do it alone with out all the cushy feelings, massive billboards and all that".

I understand this to be a process, the consolation phase will always be different as you grow with God and your relationship gets more intimate. You may not get billboards - but you will feel close and know Gods voice,  you will have times when you will go through desolation but you will always move back to consolation with God. That's just how God is.

I think it's important to have a line you stand on - what you believe so that you can't be shaken when temptation comes your way, you're having a bad day or when God just feels distant.

xKx