Reaching for the Invisible God - 1

There was a ton of interesting stuff in this book...so, I figured I will take one or two things from each section in order to help me remember and maybe it will whet some other people's appetites.
Section 1 - Thirst: Our Longing for God
Phil's discussion group each wrote an open letter to God that they then shared with the group. Phil's letter began with "Do I act as if you are alive?" and then later came to a conclusion that included "I find it easier to believe in the impossible - to believe in the parting of the Red Sea...than to believe in what should seem more possible: the slow, steady dawning of your life in people like me..."
His group was taken aback because they were surprised at the content of the letter...at how it portrayed his relationship with God and perhaps the lack of closeness that it exhibited.
In fact, Phil calls himself "septic with doubt" and yet he a well known Christian author. Perhaps one of the reasons why is that he is honest enough to write about and work through the feelings he has that include doubt and the distance he feels from God at times?
My first thought on this passage is that if anyone has been in relationship with ANYONE, let alone God, and has not gone through periods where that relationship has had ebbs and flows, times of closeness and periods where it seemed that you weren't connecting, then you haven't really been in much of a relationship. Why would a relationship with God be any different...especially since we are the same in a relationship with Him as we are with anyone else.
The other thing that struck me about this passage is how often we let others dictate how we feel about where we are in our walk. Unless you have a TON of confidence, a comment like that from a group member could totally take you down and cause insecurity in your relationship with God..."Why is it that I don't feel like they feel?" "I thought I was a mature Christian, but maybe not...after all, why would God not be speaking to me now?" And on and on it could go....are you letting others dictate how you feel about your relationship with God?