Reflections – 2023.10
All Things for Good: The Deserted Soul
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Though it is sad to lack God’s presence – yet it is good to lament His absence.
– Thomas Watson
In Thomas Watson’s book, All Things for Good, he discusses how the best things work for good for the godly. He then turns his attention to the “worst things” and how they work for good for the godly as well. We have considered how the LORD makes our afflictions work for good and even our temptations work for good. This month we’ll consider how the absence of the LORD, times when the soul seems to have been deserted, can work for the good of the Christian.
When we feel that God is far from us, that He has deserted us, we cannot see at all how this is working for our good. When a mother leaves her child in the nursery, the child isn’t thinking that the mother’s ability to worship and have some time to ‘think’ without ministering directly to the child’s needs is in any way helpful or good. The child screams. The mother is refreshed. The child is eventually reunited with his or her mother and it has worked out just fine – the mother happy to see the child, the child happy to see the mother. When we feel the LORD is far from us, we cannot see how that is for our good at all – we despair, we cry out, maybe we whine, we wonder if He will ever return.
Watson points out that when the LORD withdraws His presence for a time, some things happen which are actually good for us, even though the whole experience of His absence is unwanted and may be seemingly pointless. Here are some of Watson’s observations:
1. Desertion cures the soul of sloth. We can take the LORD’s presence for granted and be lazy in our relationship with Him. His absence makes us wake up, see the need to attend to Him more diligently.
2. Desertion cures inordinate affection to the world. A Christian, having received some worldly blessings, can be so enamored with them that he can forget God. God hiding His face exposes the foolishness of this and draws the Christian back to his first love.
3. Desertion makes the saints prize God’s countenance more than ever. We miss the sense of the Lord’s presence when He has hidden His face from us. We want to have that back and when He does return, we are glad!
4. Desertion makes us hate our sin – Our sin makes God appear as an enemy (though He is not) because we have given in to that which robs us of what is best, God’s presence! His hiding His face from us makes us face our sin and hate it and desire to kill it.
5. Desertion sets the soul to weeping and seeking after God. When we have a sense that the LORD is far from us, we pray and cry out for His return. A soul that is weeping and seeking after God is in a good place. We could be weeping and seeking for far worse.
6. Desertion gives us a sight of what Jesus Christ suffered for us. It was Jesus who cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When we have a sense of being forsaken, we get a small glimpse into the sufferings of our LORD.
7. Desertion makes us long for heaven. Here is how Watson puts it: “Here on earth, our comforts are like the moon, sometimes they are in the full, sometimes in the wane. God shows Himself to us awhile, and then retires from us. How will this set off heaven the more, and make it more delightful and ravishing, when we shall have a constant aspect of love from God!”
As we seek to live godly Christian lives, remember that all of our difficulties, even that despairing sense of God’s absence or a sense that He has hid His face from us, are ultimately turned into good by our heavenly Father as He uses this to deepen our desire for Him, to draw us to Himself. When you are faced with these deep troubles, cry out to the LORD, for He will again turn His face towards you. Remember that the LORD works all things together for good for the Christian. Praise the LORD!