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You partly perceive a necessity in the situation. God sometimes says “wait.” Quite often entry into salvation will be accompanied by a very tangible burst of God-directed joy. That makes sense, because there has to be something to say yes to. But what may follow (and did follow in my own case) is not intense bliss ever after on earth, but a rough road where it raises the question whether that encounter was for naught, while God is watching the person show proof that he believed by pursuing a repeat encounter. So yes God can withhold, but if the sincerity is there, the withholding will only be temporary.

Lord I believe; please help my unbelief.
I have so closely felt You there in hours of joy or grief.
But now where is Your light? It seems stolen by a thief.
Lord I believe; please help my unbelief.

Lord I have loved You so in months and years gone by.
Yet my spirit has grown dull; I can hardly even sigh.
What is happening to my soul? Would You show the reason why?
Lord I have loved You so in months and years gone by.

Lord, Your holy word says that You never fade or change.
You have said these worldwide sufferings should not be held as strange.
You have promised your saving presence for as long as life remains.
Lord, Your holy word says that You never fade or change.

Lord, I give myself to You again this trying hour.
I know you are preparing me to receive Your wondrous power.
No more trace of evil, though the enemy tries to scour.
Lord, I give myself to You again this trying hour.

Lord, I weep for joy again at the long awaited sight
Of your face that smiles upon my soul; once more I see the Light.
Visions dear of angels pure and saints in heaven bright;
Lord, I weep for joy again at the long awaited sight.

Ah yes, he's "watching the person show proof"..."if the sincerity is there." You have to prove your love and belief and sincerity. If you aren't feeling the joy, you clearly haven't proven it yet. That's your God of Unconditional Love in action, dangling his gifts over your head while you jump and jump and jump.

Only a human would come up with this kind of God. But of course, only a God with this sort of personality could be responsible for this world we live in. That, or there is no one up there, and like an astrologist, you create patterns around the stars and then look for proof to support them.