Christian Idol

One of the reasons that I think God seems distant sometimes is because He wants to topple our idols. Most of the time we want a God who more like a butler or slave then the God of the Universe. We think that it is God's job to make us happy. That He would never want to drive us out into the wilderness, but the Bible says that it was the Holy Spirit that drove Jesus out into the desert to be tempted. The god many people have created in their imagination would never demand repentance, but instead tells us to just focus on the positive things in our lives. God would never scold us but would only speak kindly. That He is more interested in making us nice, not holy. That He isn't as concerned with our character as He is in our feeling good about ourselves. That He is more interested in us living a full fulfilling life than helping us to know Christ's sufferings. But that is a false image of God that has been created in many Christians imaginations. We sometimes worship a created god that makes us feel better about ourselves and demands nothing from us than the true God of the universe. So sometimes God seems distant, which He never truly is, in order that this false image would be destroyed in our lives. God knows what we truly desire, He understands what we need, and knows how best to help us. But before we can meet the true God, the false God must be abandoned. If we will not abandon it, God will destroy it for us. And between the time of that destruction and the time when the true God re-enters our lives, it will feel like God has left us.