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b'I. was saddened this past week when I heard about someone who had been a strong Christian all their life but didn\\u2019t feel God for the past few months and now wasn\\u2019t sure about God or their faith anymore. Now, I want to clarify. Doubt is a normal part of faith, and everyone goes through cycles of doubt. What made me sad was the equation \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I don\\u2019t feel God = I\\u2019m not so sure God exists.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nGod doesn\\u2019t disappear when you don\\u2019t feel Him. Can you imagine having a God so small and fragile that He poofed out of existence every time we didn\\u2019t feel a strong emotional connection to Him? The Israelites went through roughly four hundred years of not hearing much from God. He had promised His Messiah, and generations passed before that promise was fulfilled. Yet, people still had the discipline to continue believing.\\nOne Christian virtue I believe is underrated is discipline. It takes discipline to meet with fellow Christians and to praise God when you don\\u2019t feel close to Him. Jesus gave us a great example of discipline when He was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan tempted Jesus to make bread from stones, which would\\u2019ve meant abandoning His reliance on God. Jesus in turn recalled when God the Father provided for the Israelites in the desert (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).\\nLike Jesus, we, too, can exercise discipline because He gave us His Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). We can call to mind times when God did come through for us and thank Him. These memories can help carry us through times when we don\\u2019t feel close to God. And when we don\\u2019t want to connect with fellow Christians because we\\u2019re unsure about our faith, it\\u2019s all the more important that we do, so we can hear how God is working in their lives. If you\\u2019re uncertain about God right now, look to the past. See how God has come through for you and answered your prayers. And keep looking to the future, trusting that God delivers on His promises. \\u2022 Naomi Vroegop\\n\\u2022 How close do you feel to God right now? Does that affect your belief in Him? \\n\\u2022 When has God answered a prayer or come through on a promise for you?\\nLet the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. Colossians 3:16 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nPsalm 27:10; John 15:12-21; 1 John 4:7-12'