She checked the clock. During the last ten minutes, people had been logging in for the conference call she had scheduled. There was a good crowd, electronically speaking. Now the time had arrived. She spoke into her speaker phone, welcomed everyone, and launched into a carefully planned discussion of critical needs and issues regarding the current mega-project of interest.

Eight minutes passed. Still going strong, she noticed something was out of the ordinary---no one was asking questions, providing input, or interrupting with unrelated information. She felt a bit uneasy, but valiantly continued on. Then she received a text message from her boss. "When's the meeting going to start?" Her eyes darted to the speaker phone. The Mute light was on. *

True and amusing story. I'm sure we've all done that. Well, actually, I haven't. Now that I think about it, I don't know anyone else who has. But surely somewhere in this great wide world another soul is nodding and saying, "I feel your pain. Been there, done that." But this got me to thinking...even as we may be snickering away, there's something quite important here we can all relate to.

Do you always feel connected to God? And don't throw out those kneejerk religious-y answers. Do you always...feel connected to...God? Very, very few can honestly answer, Yes. For the remaining 99.99% of us, there is only one truthful reply. No.

I've never known anyone who always feels connected to God, and I've known men and women of incredible faith that I can only hope to have one day. Yet they would never have answered, Yes. So is there no hope? Are we doomed to days of loneliness and despair? Yes and no.

There will indeed be days of loneliness and despair. Why? Because we often see and react first through emotion. Something happens. We're shocked, afraid, angry, sad. And we define the moment by such emotions. In short, we feel, and we make the mistake of viewing our feelings as reality. That's an aspect of depression---things appear sadder, worse, more frightening, etc., than they actually are.

Look at the question. Do you always feel connected to God? We want to feel connected, as though feeling connected will somehow make us happy. But feelings can and do change, often in an instant. Have you figured it out? Feelings do not lead us to truth. Knowledge does. We're asking the wrong question. Are you always connected to God?

God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those whose spirits are crushed. He is near to all who honestly love Him. He hears their cries and watches over them. He tends His flock like a shepherd: gathering the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He is always...always...always with them. (from Psalm 34:18; 45:18-20; Isaiah 40:9-11; Matthew 28:20)

Regardless of the circumstances...even when you feel He isn't listening to you...even when you've stopped speaking to Him...there is only one answer. The answer that lasts an eternity---Yes!