God wants us to know that even when it’s humanly impossible to see or feel Him, He is always there with us. Sometimes that’s hard to believe. But no matter how deeply we bury grief in our souls, it doesn’t go away.

I don’t know your particular life story. Yet I find that many people wish, in their heart of hearts, that they could believe that God hasn’t abandoned or rejected them, after all. God says repeatedly: “Never will I leave you, never will I abandon you.” “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Maybe you’ve consciously cursed God. Maybe you’ve only rejected the church. Maybe you’ve simply lacked the confidence to say, “God, if you’re real, please make yourself real to me.” If we learn anything from the book of Psalms, it’s that God isn’t afraid of our emotions, struggles, and questions. The one mistake we dare not make, Philip Yancey reminds us, is to confuse God (who is good) with life (which is hard).

God feels what we feel—and is taking the most radical steps possible to redeem the present situation. Those radical steps include Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and more to come. There is always hope.

Ask God to make Himself real in your life again – and He will.               

This is Luis Palau.