The Third Plea

Oh says another, I find my affliction is such that God withdraws Himself from me in my affliction, that is that that troubles me, and can anybody be quiet then, can anybody be satisfied with such a condition when the Lord shall withdraw Himself? Were my affliction never so great, yet if I find not God withdrawing Himself from me I hope I could be content with any affliction, but I cannot find the presence of God with me in this affliction, as sometimes I have found; and it is that that troubles me, and makes me to be in such a condition as I am.

Now to that I answer thus, First, it is a very evil thing for men and women upon every affliction to conclude that God is departed from them. It may be when it comes to be examined there is no other reason why you think that God is withdrawn and departed, but because He afflicts you. Now for you to make such a conclusion, that every time God lays an affliction upon you He is departed; this is a sinful distemper of your heart, and is very dishonourable to God, and grievous to His Spirit. In the 17th of Exodus, 7th verse, you may see how God was displeased there with such a kind of distemper as this is, And He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the chiding of the Children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord amongst us or not? Mark, they did murmur because they were brought into afflictions, but see what the text says, therefore the place was called Massah and Meribah, because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord amongst us or not? This was to tempt God, sometimes we are afraid God is departed from us, and it was merely because we are afflicted. I beseech you observe that Scripture, God calls it a tempting of Him when He afflicts any, for them to conclude and say that God is departed from them. If a child should cry out of his father, and say that his father is turned to be an enemy to him, because he does correct him, this would be taken ill. I beseech you consider of this one place, it may be of very great use to you, that you may not be ready to think that God is departed because you are afflicted.

Secondly, if God be departed, the greatest sign of God's departing is because you are so disquieted. You make your disquiet be the fruit of God's departing, and if it comes to be examined your disquiet is the cause of God's departing from you. If you could but cure your disquiet, if you could but quiet your own hearts and get them into a better frame of contentedness under God's hand in afflicting of you, then you would find God's presence with you. Will you be thus disquieted till God comes again to you? Your disquiet drives Him from you, and you can never expect God's coming to manifest Himself comfortably to your souls, till you have gotten your hearts quiet under your afflictions. And therefore here you see how crossly you reason. You reason, I am disquieted because God is gone, when the truth is God is gone because you are disquieted. Reason but the other way, Oh my disquiet has driven God from me, and therefore as ever I would have the presence of God to come again to me, let my heart be quiet under the hand of God.

Thirdly, do you find God departing from you in your affliction? Will you therefore depart from God too? Is this your help? Can you help yourself that way? Because God is gone will you go too? Do I indeed feel God departing from me? It may be it is so, it may be God for your trial is departed a little from you, and is it so indeed? What unwise course do I take? I commit further sin and so I go further off from God. What a case am I in? God goes from me, and I from God. If the child sees the mother going from it, it's not for the child to say, my mother is gone yonder and I will go the other way, no, but the child goes crying after the mother. And so should the soul say, I see the Lord is withdrawing His presence from me, and now it is best for me to make after the Lord with all my might, and I am sure this murmuring humor is not a making after God, but by this I go further and further off from God, and what a distance is there like to be between God and me within a little while? These are some of the reasonings and pleas of a murmuring and discontented heart. There are many others that we shall meet withal, and endeavor to speak to your hearts in them, that so this tough humor of discontent may (as it were) be cut with the Word and softened with the Word, that so it may pass away. For that's the way of Physicians when they meet with a body that has any tough humor then they give that that has a piercing quality. When there is a tough humor that stops the water that it cannot pass, they give that that has a piercing quality that may make passage for it. And so you have need of such things that are piercing to make way through this tough humor that is in the spirits of men and women whereby they come to live very uncomfortably to themselves and others, and very dishonorable unto God.

Another discontented person says: "My affliction is such that God seems to have withdrawn Himself from me in it — and that is what troubles me. Can anyone be at peace when God has withdrawn Himself? However great my affliction, if I could sense God's presence with me in it, I believe I could be content. But I cannot find God's presence with me in this affliction as I have at other times. That is what troubles me and puts me in the state I am in."

To that I answer: first, it is a very evil thing for people to conclude, every time they suffer an affliction, that God has departed from them. When it is examined closely, often there is no reason for thinking God has withdrawn except the fact of the affliction itself. To draw that conclusion — that every time God lays an affliction on you He has abandoned you — is a sinful disorder of heart, very dishonorable to God, and grievous to His Spirit. Exodus 17:7 shows how displeased God was with exactly this kind of response: "He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us, or not?'" Notice: they were murmuring because they were brought into affliction, and the text calls it a testing of God. They asked, "Is the Lord among us or not?" — simply because they were afflicted. God calls it a tempting of Him when those He afflicts conclude that He has departed from them. If a child were to cry out that his father had become his enemy simply because his father corrected him, the father would rightly take that badly. Consider this passage carefully — it may be of great use to you, so that you do not quickly conclude that God has left you simply because you are afflicted.

Second, if God has indeed departed, the greatest sign of His departure is your own restlessness. You claim your restlessness is the result of God's departure. But if it were examined, you would find it is actually the cause of it. If you could only cure your restlessness — if you could quiet your heart and bring it to a more contented frame under God's afflicting hand — you would find God's presence with you again. Will you remain restless until God comes back? Your restlessness is driving Him away. You can never expect God to manifest Himself comfortably to your soul until your heart is quiet under your afflictions. So you see how backward your reasoning is. You say: "I am restless because God has gone." The truth is: God has gone because you are restless. Reason the other way: "My restlessness has driven God from me — and if I ever want His presence back, I must quiet my heart under His hand."

Third, do you feel God departing from you in your affliction? Will you therefore depart from God as well? Is that how you help yourself? Because God has gone, will you go even further away? If I truly feel God withdrawing from me, what an unwise course I take — committing further sin, going further away from God. What a situation. God moves away from me, and I move away from God. If a child sees his mother walking away, the right response is not to walk in the opposite direction. The child runs crying after the mother. So the soul ought to say: "I can see the Lord withdrawing His presence from me — now the best thing I can do is pursue Him with all my strength. I know for certain that this murmuring attitude is not a pursuing of God. By it I go further and further from Him — and how great a distance may open up between God and me before long?" These are some of the reasonings and pleas of a murmuring and discontented heart. There are many others that we will address, laboring to speak to your heart, so that this stubborn disorder of discontent may be pierced and softened by the Word, and driven out. Physicians, when they encounter a stubborn condition in the body, prescribe something with a penetrating quality. When a thick obstruction blocks the flow, they give something that can cut through and open a passage. In the same way, you need something piercing to break through the stubborn disposition in your spirit — the spirit that makes you live miserably, that makes life miserable for those around you, and that dishonors God greatly.