God, the Sun, and the Solar Eclipse

The solar eclipse in the U.S. is less than a week away and Greenville, South Carolina, will be directly in its path. In the middle of the day, the moon will pass in front of the sun, blocking its light for approximately 2 minutes.

photo courtesy of pixabay

There’s been quite a buzz about it over the last few months. It’s all over the news, in the papers, and online.

It’ll begin to get dark in early afternoon as the moon begins to cross between the sun and the earth.

When the moon totally blocks the sun, everything will be dark. It’s hard to imagine what that’ll be like in the middle of the day, so I’m excited to witness it. 

Even though everything is dark, the sun will still there. It’ll just be hidden behind the moon. Completely blacked out. If we didn’t know better, we might think it was gone since we see no evidence of it. But we’re smarter than that. In less than 3 minutes we’ll see the sun begin to peek out from behind the moon, illuminating the sky once again.

 

If we’re smart enough to know the sun’s still there during an eclipse, that we just can’t see it behind the moon, why do we think God has disappeared when we can’t see him? Negative circumstances can eclipse our view of God at times. Health problems, financial issues, or family crises can make us think and feel like God doesn’t exist. Or if He is still out there, then He’s abandoned us. But that’s not true. He’s still with us, even when we can’t see Him.

 

I’ve been in a place in my life, more than once, when I’ve felt alone. Confused and upset, wondering why God wouldn’t answer my prayers. I asked Him, “Why God?” Why would you let this happen? If you love me, if you care, then why? I imagine you’ve asked Him why He’d allow something in your life too.

 

God didn’t answer me. He heard me, but he didn’t answer my question. So I kept at it. “If you’re all-knowing, if you’re all-powerful, and if you’re everywhere at once, where are you now?”

 

He never did tell me why He allowed me to have a stroke and why I can’t work now. Then I changed the question. I asked Him what He wanted for me now and whether there was any purpose for my life. He eventually let me know.

 

It took a long time for Him to answer—much longer than I wanted. But I hung onto His promise in the Bible that He would never leave me or forsake me.  

God told me my life did have a purpose. It wasn’t gone. It had changed. He wanted me to tell others how He had healed me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually over time. I hope to do that through my writing.

God has purpose for you too, despite whatever you may be going through now. Even if you don’t know what that purpose is, I encourage you to hang onto his promises. God is not a liar. He does love you and is still with you, even if you can’t see Him right now.

 

Are you in a place where God seems to be absent? Do you wonder if He’s still “out there”? Remember God’s promise. He’s told us He will never leave us. He is still there, even when we can’t see Him. If you’ve been there before, I’d like to hear how you handled it. Share as much as you feel comfortable with here. Someone will benefit from your story.