You should certainly ask the Lord why you feel empty, but the idea that God has forsaken you is a lie planted in your heart. All of God’s promises are true. God has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. God “cannot lie”, Titus 1:2.

Many believe they are His because their happy feelings are an the evidence. But their feelings change in the times of greatest need. When they feel unhappy, they lose what they suppose is God’s love and presence.

“Where is the blessedness I knew,

When first I found the Lord?”

Such are deceived and misled by their feelings. The disappointments of life are designed to draw us near to our Father, and to our Savior’s loving sympathy and care. Because they have lost the witness of their feelings, they feel grief, hunger, and thirst for a return of the good feelings. Sadly,  they lose many precious lessons obtainable only when leaning confidently on the Lord’s word and communing with him.

Their doubts are expressed in the well-known hymn:

“Tis a point I long to know –

Oft it causes anxious thought:

Do I love the Lord or no?

Am I his or am I not?”

Our changeable feelings are not a proper criterion to judge our relationship with God. 

We base our faith on God’s words in the Bible. Hence the questions to ask when in need  of reassurance are:

Was I ever drawn to Christ? – to recognize that I am a sinner and that he is my Redeemer, through whose righteousness alone I could be acceptable with God? If the answer is yes, the next question would be:

Did I ever fully consecrate myself – my life, my time, my talents, my influence, my all – to God?

If your answer is also yes, you may rest fully assured that God is with you. If your heart’s desires are still trusting in the merit of Jesus, and you are still consecrated to do the Lord’s will, you should believe God’s word. Ephesians 6:16 (ESV), “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”

Our assurance must “set to his seal that God is true” (John 3:33): that our Lord changes not, but is “the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8)  The Lord’s people may therefore rest assured – so long as their hearts are loyal to God and their desires in harmony with his will: so long as they are at heart obedient to the divine commands – briefly comprehended in the word Love – to God and men. 

Understanding God's plan for us is a great comfort. The free booklet, God's Grand Plan of the Ages, covers subjects such as "Why God Permits Evil," Epochs of Time in God's Plan," "God's Judgment Day," "Ransom, Restitution and Resurrection," and a chapter explaining the details of the "Chart of the Ages." 

Download the free PDF: "God's Grand Plan of the Ages"