Excerpt from Feet of Clay: Facing the Emotions that Make Us Stumble

By Paul W. Powell

The working of God in our lives is often imperceptible. It is often obscure and difficult to see except in retrospect. Only as we look back are we able to see the hand of God moving in our lives.

There must have been times when Joseph wondered, "Where is God in all of this?" It would have been hard to see the hand of God from the bottom of the pit in Canaan. It would have been hard to feel the presence of God while walking in chains across the desert. It would have been hard to hear the voice of God while languishing in prison in Egypt.

At times he must have wondered, "Why has God forsaken me? What have I done to deserve all this?" In those dark days only his dream and his faith in God kept him going. It was only years later, looking back, that he could say, "God sent me to preserve you a remnant...God made me a father to Pharaoh...God made me lord of all Egypt.

There is a truth here for us. The working of God in our lives is often unrecognized. It is often so subtle, so veiled, so obscure, that we cannot see it while we are in the midst of it. If we are to see it now, it must be by the eyes of faith.

It is possible to have movement without perception. And it is possible for God to be at work without our seeing it or feeling it. Let me illustrate. The earth is spinning on its axis at a speed of 1,000 miles an hour at this very moment. Yet you and I have no sense of motion. At the same time it is rotating around the sun at a speed of 66,000 miles an hour. Do you feel dizzy? The earth is moving, but we do not perceive it. Einstein used to strike 2 quick blows with his fist in rapid succession and then say, "Between those 2 strokes we travel 30 miles." That's movement without perception. Just so, God is moving in history. God is active in our world and in our lives, even though we don't always see it or feel it.

Someone found the following words scribbled on the wall of a basement in Germany at the close of World War II:

I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining.
I believe in love, even when I cannot feel it.
I believe in God, even when He is silent.

That's the kind of faith we need--to believe in God when God apparently is doing nothing and saying nothing; to believe that God is working, quietly, secretly, and imperceptibly, implementing His designs, never early, never late, and never in error.

Paul Powell is the author of "Feet of Clay", published by Smyth & Helwys Publishing. To order, go to the online bookpage or call 1-800-747-3016.

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