When God Has Vanished Like a Fart in the Wind- C.S. Lewis

Here is a double tap from C.S. Lewis which may speak to you if you feel like God has up and vanished like a fart in the wind (to quote the Warden from the Shawshank Redemption). If you feel this way you are not alone. Try spending a season reading and praying through the Psalms.

1. From the Screwtape letters: a demon giving advice to his underling demon. Of course God is the enemy mentioned here.

"Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

2. From "Religion: Reality or Substitute?" in Christian Reflections

"Believe in God and you will have to face hours when it seems obvious that this material world is the only reality; disbelieve in Him and you must face hours when this material world seems to shout at you that it is not all."

C.S. Lewis Teaches Us How to Avoid God

Taken from C.S. Lewis "The Seeing Eye" in Christian Reflections

"The avoiding, in many times and places, has proved so difficult that a very large part of the human race failed to achieve it.  But in our own time and place it is extremely easy.  Avoid silence, avoid solitude, avoid any train of thought that leads off the beaten track.  Concentrate on money, sex, status, health and (above all) on your own grievances.  Keep the radio on.  Live in the crowd.  Use plenty of sedation.  If you must read books, select them very carefully.  But you'd be safer to stick to the papers.  You'll find the advertisements helpful; especially those with a sexy or a snobbish appeal."

Commentary:  Perhaps we could add a few other suggestions for how to avoid God in the present days of the 21st Century.  Below are 10 additional ways to try and keep God at bay.  Add your own.  (In addition, many of the things below are also helpful in killing relationships).

1.  Lose yourself on facebook and keep on the internet as much as possible
2.  Keep the TV on as much as you possibly can
3.  In fact, the more technology you can keep active in your life the better:  Even texting as much as possible will do the trick.  To help kill relationships text others at the same time you are sitting and talking with others.
4.  Work as many hours as possible and burn the candle at both ends as much as possible.  Do you seriously believe that God can give to you even in your sleep?
5.  Sacrifice as much as possible to ensure your kids get good experience in their sports activities.  Foregoing Christian fellowship for the sake of sports is no problem.  Everyone else is doing it.
6.  Obsess over any kind of hobby such as fantasy sports or other things.
7.  Keep as much entertainment going in your life as is humanly possible
8.  Think on the will of God as little as possible, read the Bible and pray as little as possible.  If you do these things God may creep in and turn your world in a direction where He becomes primary.
9.  Keep your social standing before others as high as possible.  Compromising with the world helps here.
10.  Take no risks, take no chances.  Never put yourself in a position of vulnerability where you might fail or be broken.  In short, the less you attempt to do for God or others the better.

Remaining Confident Under Threat of Ruination- Lewis and Psalm 27

Lewis writes the below from "On living an an Atomic Age" Present Concerns:

"If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible things--praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts--not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs.  They may break our bodies (any microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds."

Comments:  There are many trials that we might call "life stoppers."  They can lead to depression and immobility.  I speak of things like an un unexpected illness, the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, rejection and misunderstanding by others, the killing of a dream, death of a loved one, things like that.  Lewis makes a good point here, taken from Psalm 27 (quoted below):  regardless of what happens to us we must prove through Christ to be overcomers and press on with life.  Regardless of the cost, we must follow Him and do His bidding, walking among men and women as He Himself walked.  Of course, in doing this you will pay a price--a price many are no longer willing to pay in our age.

Remember, the Holy Spirit is a comforter.  If you need no comfort you may not need Him.  Likewise the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control) is going to be most evidenced at times when the very opposite of such fruit is more likely to reveal itself in the natural.  The supernatural life is not needed by those who have it all together.  Nay, the Holy Spirit is for those facing trial and ruin in the hardships of life, whatever these may be.

Psalm 27:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh--my adversaries and foes--they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the Lord; that will I seek after; to live in the house all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

For He will hide me in the His shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of His tent:
He will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer  me!
"Come," my hearts says, "seek His face!"
Your face, Lord, do I seek.  Do not hide Your face from me.

Do not turn Your servant away in anger, You who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.

Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path.

Give Everything Over to Death: C.S. Lewis on Romans 12:1

In Mere Christianity Lewis writes:  "Give up yourself, and you will find your real self.  Lose your life and you will save it.  Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life.  Keep back nothing.  Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours.  Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the death.  Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay.  But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in."

Comments:  What is all this business we talk about defending our rights and being in charge of our lives?  Are we not trying to lead a double life?  On the one hand we want Jesus; we want to be Christian . . . we want Him to rule us.  And yet, on the other hand we would go to the death to preserve our independence and the rights we have to pursue liberty and happiness.  We strive to fulfill our dreams.  We rule our lives and give lip service to being ruled by Another.  Yet all along the secret to the resurrection of our very lives in the here and now is crucifixion.  Without voluntary death right now none of us shall ever enjoy His resurrection life as it was meant to me--right now.  In the Christian realm death as spoken here always leads to abundant life.  Be warned:  The devil is trying to keep you from it.

Eternal life is about today-- your present existence on September 20, 2011.  It is a quality of life that you will have if you will lay down your life.  My passions, my dreams, my own will and plans must be relinquished to Him.  This is what it means to seek first God's kingdom.  It is to go all in.  It is to adapt the sermon on the mount as a real ethic.  It is to reject every false brand of Christianity which says we can live for Jesus and somehow be in charge of our lives.  You want to see God?  You want to experience His resurrection?  Then you and everything in you must die.  His will, His ways, His power will only come to the front of your life when you voluntary sacrifice all to God--including those things that we have been fooled into thinking we had a right to have.

The Lights Are On But . . .

There is nobody home.  Very good.  That was easy.  And there is perhaps only one thing worse than that!  How about this-- The Lights are OFF and there is nobody home.  I recently came across a reading of C.S. Lewis while reading of our Lord's Passion, his road to suffering and death on the cross.  I have edited Lewis' writing to make it a bit more understandable to the modern ear. (Any Purists please forgive me)  It is from Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer:


Does not every movement in the Passion of our Lord register a common element in either our own suffering or the suffering of those around us?  First, the prayer of anguish (Garden of Gethsemane):  Not granted.  Then Jesus turns to His friends.  They are asleep--as are our friends at times or perhaps we ourselves-- asleep, or busy, or away, or preoccupied.  Then He faces the Church; the very Church that He brought into existence.  It condemns Him.  This also is characteristic.  In every Church, in every institution, there is something which sooner or later works against the very purpose for which it came into existence.  But there seems to be another chance.  There is the State . . . its pretensions are far lower than those of the Church, but for that very reason it may be free from local fanaticism's.  It claims to be just on a rough, worldly level.  Yet, but only so far as is consistent with political expediency.  Other factors may come in and override all legal and moral considerations.  One becomes a counter or a mere chip in a complicated game.  But even now all is not lost.  There is still an appeal to the People-- the poor and simple whom He had blessed, whom He had healed and fed and taught, to whom He Himself belongs.  But they have become over-night (it is nothing unusual) a murderous rabble shouting for His blood.  There is then, nothing left but God.  And to God, God's last words are "Why hast thou forsaken me?"

Commentary:  Hmmmm.  The above is to go darker than dark, a darkness as occurred during the Passover night that turned bad for the Egyptians.  It was said to be a darkness that can be felt.  Indeed . . . and it was worse for our Lord as the Father actually turned His back on His own Son as He poured out holy wrath upon Him.  Dark as Pitch.  Well, what about us in our times of utter darkness?

Consider Isaiah 50:10a:  "Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light?"  Now consider this:  a faithful servant of God in the dark and can see no way out.  There are many people around us that this describes--or perhaps it is you.  Following God but He is seemingly gone and the temptation is to curse God and die.  Well, there are two choices given in this passage for Isaiah for them (or us) during these times:

1.  "Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on His God. " (Isaiah 50:10b) Yes, even when it is pitch black and everyone, including God seems to have vacated your life.  This is the way to go.  Or . . .

2.  "Kindle a fire, encircle yourself with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and among the brands that you have set ablaze."  (Isaiah 50:11)  In other words, rather than wait for God create your own light and solution. This is an option but be warned:  such will lie down in torment according to Isaiah 50:11b.

Even when all is dark, when the lights are out and there seems to be nobody within miles and miles . . . though the fig tree does not blossom, though there be no fruit on the vine, though the flocks are cut off, though there are no cattle in the stalls, though you have lost a job or a friend  . . . or whatever your loss . . . Yet, Yet, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.  Let Him make your feet like hinds' feet and make you to walk on your high places. See Habakkuk 3:17-19