The Pursuit of God: A Plea to Keep Seeking
There’s a particular comment made by Alex O’Connor, the Cosmic Skeptic, that has stayed with me. Reflecting on the psalmist’s assertion that he couldn’t escape God’s presence, Alex lamented that all he wanted in his younger days was to find God, but he couldn’t. When I first heard those words, my heart sank. I couldn’t help but cry for him—not in pity, but in deep empathy, because I remember my own time before discovering the exchanged life. I, too, knew the ache of longing for God and feeling like He was nowhere to be found.
To anyone feeling this same emptiness, this blog is my plea: please, don’t stop seeking. But as you seek, consider whether the methods you’ve relied upon so far—reasoning or waiting for an overwhelming emotional experience—might need to shift. God often meets us in ways we don’t expect, and sometimes, we need to open ourselves to the possibility that His presence doesn’t fit into the categories we’ve created.
The Limits of Reason
For someone like Alex, whose intellect and reasoning are sharp, the search for God can become an exercise in logic: Can I reason my way to God? Is there proof beyond doubt that God exists? These are valid questions, and God invites us to love Him with all our mind (Matthew 22:37). But reason, while a gift, has limits. There are aspects of God—His infinite nature, His eternal existence, His triune being—that simply defy human understanding. As Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
The pursuit of God cannot be confined to reason alone because He is not a mathematical equation or a philosophical axiom to be proven. Reason can guide us toward God, but it cannot fully encompass Him. Faith becomes the bridge that connects our finite understanding to God’s infinite reality. As Hebrews 11:6 says:
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Faith is not blind; it is trust based on evidence—but evidence that goes beyond the purely empirical to include the spiritual, relational, and experiential dimensions of life.
The Role of Experience
Others may seek God in the form of a tangible, emotional experience—a sudden moment of clarity, peace, or divine encounter that leaves no doubt of His presence. While God does sometimes reveal Himself in these ways, waiting for an emotional “proof” of God’s existence can become a stumbling block. Feelings are fleeting, and basing belief solely on them can lead to disillusionment when they fade.
God’s presence is not contingent on our emotions. He promises His nearness, whether or not we feel it. In fact, some of the most faithful believers in Scripture—people like Job, the psalmists, and even Jesus on the cross—experienced seasons when they could not feel God’s presence. Yet they trusted Him nonetheless. As Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:7:
“For we live by faith, not by sight.”
The same is true of emotions. Faith is a decision to trust God’s promises, even in the absence of overwhelming feelings. This trust often leads to a deeper, more consistent experience of His presence over time.
Faith: The Bridge to God
If reason has its limits and emotional experiences can be unreliable, where does that leave the seeker? Faith becomes the answer—not faith as an arbitrary leap, but faith as a bridge that connects us to God when reason and emotions fall short. Faith allows us to trust that God’s promises are true, even when our senses fail to perceive Him.
Consider Jesus’ words to Thomas in John 20:29:
“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
This blessing is not a dismissal of evidence but an invitation to trust the One who has already made Himself known in countless ways—through creation (Romans 1:20), through Scripture, and most profoundly, through Jesus Christ, “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Faith allows us to step into a relationship with God that reason alone cannot achieve.
An Invitation to Seek Differently
To anyone who feels God is hidden, let me offer this encouragement: The very longing you feel is itself evidence of God’s pursuit. C.S. Lewis once wrote:
“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
The ache in your heart, the longing for transcendence, the search for meaning—these are whispers of God calling you to Himself. Don’t dismiss them. Instead, allow them to guide you toward faith.
To Alex, and to anyone like him, I would say this: Keep seeking, but consider seeking differently. Don’t let the limits of reason or the absence of feelings convince you that God is absent. Instead, open yourself to the possibility that He is nearer than you think—waiting for you to take the step of faith that bridges the gap.
As James 4:8 promises:
“Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
The Assurance of His Presence
For those who have taken this step of faith, there is an indescribable assurance that comes from knowing God’s presence—not always as a feeling, but as a truth anchored in His promises. Since embracing the exchanged life, I have come to know this reality: God’s presence is constant, and my trust in His Word sustains me. I no longer wonder if He is there; I know He is, because He has said so.
This same assurance is available to anyone who seeks Him—not by reason alone, nor by waiting for an emotional breakthrough, but by stepping into the relationship He offers through faith. It’s a relationship that transforms, sustains, and gives meaning to every moment of life.
Closing Plea
If you’ve been searching for God and feel that He is hidden, please don’t give up. Your longing is significant, your questions are valid, and your journey matters. But consider whether it’s time to seek differently—to open your heart to faith where reason ends, to trust in His promises even when emotions waver. He is not far from any one of us, as Paul told the Athenians in Acts 17:27:
“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”
The path to God may not always be the one we expect, but it is always open. Take the step of faith, and you may discover that He has been with you all along.