There are certain times in our faith journey where we feel distant from God. Whether that be because of busyness, fatigue, change in schedules, relationships, shifting priorities, or for no reason at all, it is a challenge all of us as Christians will have to go through, or have gone through.
If you are currently feeling far from God, let me encourage you that this is normal. It's an inevitable part of our walk of faith. The last thing the enemy wants is for people to be close to God. He will do anything he can to get in the way of that. If you have fallen distant, it's not a sign of defeat. We can fight back by getting closer with God again and again.
Here are a few things which have encouraged me when I have felt distant from God:
Our relationship with God will never be perfect (or any relationship for that matter). Our sinful, human nature means we will never reach perfection, meaning we will never feel perfectly satisfied and successful in any relationship. These hard times of feeling far away is just a part of that. You are not alone in this struggle, and there will be a time where you feel close again.
God never changes. He is a perfect being, and He will always be near to us, even when we don't feel that. Psalm 145:18 says, "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." And this, will never change.
Our feelings don't define our faith. Our feelings lie to us and are never true. But what is, the Word of God, says that we are saved and in relationship with God and there is nothing that can change that!
But this isn't a place we have to stay! Here are a few ways that have helped me grow close to God again:
The most important thing (in my opinion) is not to be hard on yourself. Don't give up because you weren't close like you were. Don't expect yourself to spend hours upon hours spending time with Him when that isn't realistic. Don't let these expectations stop you from getting back up again.
Have your priority be closeness to God, not on how much "stuff" you can do. It doesn't matter how much time you spend praying or how much you read in the Bible if you are just going through the motions. Do what you need to reconnect and what makes you feel close to God, even if that seems "unproductive" in Christianity.
Shake things up. Sometimes, we just need a change in routine. Change when you spend time with God, how you consume the Bible, how you pray, what you do to connect with God.
I pray that if you are in a season of feeling distant, that you reconnect with God again afresh. That you don't get overwhelmed with expectations or that the enemies attack on your life keeps you that way. Remember, no matter what you do or don't do, God is always near to you, and that will never change.
For more on this topic, listen to Episode 21 of my podcast, "Living Hopeful": https://open.spotify.com/show/1jd0xO01MNZydjTAhFd2LY?si=53b51471c26c4988
If you have any questions, any prayer requests or want to request a topic for me to share about, don't hesitate to email me: sheislivinghopeful@gmail.com.
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