John 21:1-3 “Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias (which we know better as the Sea of Galilee). It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”

These men were here for one reason: they wanted to see Jesus. This is where he told them to go, where he said he would meet them. In the past there were times when they had questioned his plans or resisted his instructions. Not this time. They came as he said. The only problem was, Jesus was nowhere to be seen.

Sometimes we sense Jesus’ absence, too. We may not be surprised when we have chosen our path in defiance of his word. We don’t expect him to follow us into our vices. Psalm 5 reminds us, “You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.”

But what about when we aren’t embracing open sin? We understand that sin is always with us, that our sinful nature taints everything we do, even the good stuff. We make no claims to perfection. But we live in grace. Christ has forgiven all our sins. As forgiven people it is also true that we resist sin. Sometimes, even when we have chosen to sacrifice for others, or we take a stand for good morals that earns us the ridicule of others, it seems that Jesus is absent. We do not sense his blessing. We cannot feel his reassurance.

A man once called me, distraught, because he felt as if the Lord were rejecting him. He attended a small group Bible study, and everyone who came talked about their blessings the entire time. They had great jobs, great families, great lives. He had lost everything. He knew some details about the way they lived that made him question why the Lord seemed to be with them, but not him. He didn’t sense God’s presence in his life.

Here’s our problem. God never promised we would “sense” his presence, as if we had some kind of spiritual metal detectors built into our souls and he was the gold that made them start buzzing. He is present with us all the time because he promises that it is so. He promises “I am with you” dozens of times in the Old Testament, to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, David, and others. Jesus made the promise to his disciples during his ministry and in visions after he ascended. Does he even have to say this if people are sensing he is there? He is with us, because that’s what his word says. He doesn’t go AWOL, whether we sense him or not. He is present even when you can’t see him. That he gives us faith to believe this is also how he shows he lives.