I'm so thankful for my sister and the conversation we had today. She reminded me that no matter what, He is good. No matter what, He doesn't change.  I cannot view Him and my relationship with Him, based upon my own feelings.  We were talking about how we know that we have done this in the past; we have thought He was good based upon the way we felt. Abigail has caused us to see our relationship with the Lord more rightly.  I have to remember that the Lord is present in my life even when I don't feel like He is.

 "Human perception sometimes poses questions the mind is incapable of answering.  But valid answers always exist.  For those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, it just makes good sense not to depend too heavily on our ability to make the pieces fit - especially when we're trying to figure out the Almighty! Not only is human perception a highly flawed and imprecise instrument, but our emotions are even less reliable.  They have the consistency and dependability of Silly Putty...We can't depend on our feelings and passions to govern our lives or assess the world around us.  Emotions are unreliable - biased - whimsical.  They lie as often as they tell the truth...One of the evidences of emotional maturity is the ability (and the willingness) to overrule ephemeral feelings and govern our behavior with intellect and will.  If perceptions or emotions are suspect at best, then we must be extremely wary in accepting what they tell us about God... Even when He seems 1,000 miles away and uninterested in our affairs, He is close enough to touch.  A wonderful illustration of this unseen presence is described in Luke 24, verses 13 and 14, when two of Jesus' disciples were walking toward a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.  They had seen their Master horribly crucified three days earlier, and they were severely depressed.  Everything that they hoped for had died on that Roman cross.  All the dramatic things Jesus had said and done now appeared contrived and untrue.  He had spoken with such authority, but now He was dead and laid to rest in a borrowed tomb... The disciples couldn't have been more confused. What they didn't realize was that Jesus was walking that dusty road with them at that very moment, and that they were about to be given the greatest news ever heard by human ears.  It would revolutionize their lives and turn the rest of the world upside down. At the time, however, all they saw were facts that could not be harmonized. They had a problem, I submit, a problem of perception... If you find yourself on that dusty road to Emmaus today, and the circumstances in your life have left you confused and depressed, I have a word of counsel for you.  Never assume God's silence or apparent inactivity is evidence of His disinterest.  Let me say it again.  Feelings about His inaccessibility mean nothing!  Absolutely nothing! His Word is infinitely more reliable than our spooky emotions... The Lord is at work in His own unique way even when our prayers seem to echo back from an empty universe."

It is a constant battle against my own flesh and emotions.  It is a reminder of why spending time in the Word and prayer are so important during this difficult journey.  Again, I have to recall His promises. My flawed and limited human perspective reminds me of God's response to Job - "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone - while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?" These verses are convicting, but I also find such comfort in them; He is almighty and powerful, and He is in control!