17
Aug '19
Far from God
17
Aug '19
I think I speak for most Christians when I say sometimes we feel so far from God. It’s like God is nowhere to be found, but we just want Him near. We go through our days and hope He blesses us, touches us, and is near to us. We wonder where He is when we don’t feel Him. “Why did he leave us?” we ask.
I remember many years ago a Christian friend and I were talking and he made a statement that I couldn’t relate to at the time. He said “If Jesus Himself told me right now that He’d be coming back in 5 minutes, I couldn’t make things right that fast”. I’ve never forgotten him saying that, and at the time, I was completely confused as to why he couldn’t get things right in that scenario. Granted, if Jesus came in 5 minutes, my friend was a Christian and God would’ve taken Him, but I think my friends point was that he wasn’t in the right mind set at the time to “make things right” that quickly, and quite honestly, that would be a lot of pressure in such a short amount of time. I don’t think this statement my friend shared with me is too uncommon – it’s a place I think that many Christians fall into at times in their Christian walk. Thankfully, there’s a process called prayer.
As Christians, we have to continually be examining our lives so we stay close to God. We need to be repenting of our sins, we need to be praying (talking to God) often. We need to talk to our brothers and sisters in Christ and ask them to lift us up and pray with and for us. What a breath of life a Christian friend can bring to our soul (I’ve experienced this myself very recently). God is always listening. He wants so badly for us to talk to Him, spend time with Him and have a relationship with Him. When we start doing things ourselves without consulting Him, things can get out of whack really quickly.
I’ve been through this myself at times in my Christian walk – I don’t know many who haven’t. When this disconnect happens, we can’t just assume we’re the only one that has ever gone through this, and that God is turning His back on us – that’s not the case at all. It’s more like we’ve somehow turned our back on God – even if we don’t feel like we have, there is something going on in our life that we have to pinpoint that needs to be fixed, confessed, and we need to have some serious conversations in prayer to God. One way to find out what this is, is to get on our knees and simply ask God, and then be silent and wait for Him to speak. Trust me, He is faithful to speak to us to let us know what it is we need to confess. Whether we confess it or not is another story, but I’m certain He will bring things to the forefront. (If you don’t believe me, just try it).
I recently did an online search to see what others were saying about this topic, and found these 5 things you can also do when you don’t feel God’s presence (taken from a blog by Rebecca Barlow Jordan):
1. Acknowledge Who He Is. (Alpha, Omega, Beginning, End, One Who Never changes)
2. Ask God to search your heart. (Prayer)
3. Affirm who you are. (Son or Daughter of the King – His child!)
4. Accept your emotions for what they are. (Influences, emotions could be clouding your vision)
5. Allow His Word to saturate your heart, mind, and emotions. (Get in His Word)
Isaiah 41:10 – So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Hebrews 13:5b – I (God) will never leave you or forsake you.
Please remember to not get complacent in your distant times from God. If you’re staring at your phone for two hours and your Bible is only open for two minutes, there’s a disconnect that needs to be addressed. Keep searching and keep reaching out, keep praying and keep asking. Open your Bible. God is always there; He’s always near. He’s just waiting for us to come to Him. I’ve always found, when I feel far from God, when I can’t feel Him near, I was the one who moved. It wasn’t God. He’s never left my side. Ever.
So, when someone has moved, it’s me, not Him.
“When you can’t feel God’s presence, don’t panic. Let your prayers and your praise rise to the One who lives in your heart, night and day. You can’t escape His presence (Psalm 139). But then, why would you want to?” – Rebecca Barlow Jordan
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~Dena
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About Dena:
“First and foremost, I’m a Daughter of the King and a long-time Christ follower. I’m also a dog mom who enjoys reading Christian books, cardio drumming, traveling often, and I’m a bit of a techie geek. My life has seen its fair share of curve-balls and I’ve found that I’ve become closer to Christ in each trial as He’s comforted me and shown me that I can solely put my faith and trust in Him. 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT says “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” I feel thankful and blessed for the messes in my life – as they have brought me closer to Him.”
#NoMessNoMessage
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Good post! I struggle at times with feeling far off, I always consider the psalmist when he said “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” Restore the joy of my salvation
Thanks… it’s comforting to know when we feel like this, He’s still right there. 🙂