When God Seems Distant - The Crosswalk Devotional - December 5
The Crosswalk Devotional
Audio By Carbonatix
By Cindi McMenamin, Crosswalk.com
When God Seems Distant
By Cindi McMenamin
Bible Reading:
“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:25 NLT
Are there days when you feel lonely and you wonder why? Isn’t God supposed to always be with you? Didn’t He promise in Hebrews 13:5 that He’d never leave His people? So why do you still feel lonely?
Often, we are tempted to say, “God’s not speaking to me. He’s become distant.” But in reality, you and I are the ones who stopped talking to, stopped listening, or moved further away from Him.
God promises us in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can separate us from His love, so if you feel like God is distant, perhaps it’s a result of one or more of these three scenarios:
1. You might not be following Him closely.
When we are merely believers, but not obedient followers of Jesus, the abundant life Jesus promised us in John 10:10 is not ours and this can result in feeling anxious, uncertain, and lonely. Through a lack of obedience to God or misplaced priorities, we can hold back the blessings He has for those who fully surrender to Him. It’s possible to possess a head knowledge of God (in which we know what we’re supposed to do and not to do), without engaging our hearts and loving Him with all that we are. That’s when we become stuck between the now and the not yet. We live in the now of the difficulties of life on our own and have not yet experienced the joys and blessings of a life fully surrendered to Him. In the now, you may have an understanding that there’s a God and you’ll be held accountable to Him. But you don’t yet have enough of an understanding of Him, or passion for Him, to pursue a closer relationship with Him that will lead to the fulfillment you seek.
2. You might be worrying and not clinging to His Word.
Mark 4:19 tells us the worries of this world choke the Word’s fruitfulness in our lives. If we claim God’s not talking to us through His Word, it’s possible we are worriers and our worrisome thoughts and anxieties are drowning out God’s voice. Don’t underestimate the importance of being in God’s Word regularly in order to grow closer to Jesus and to keep from sin (worry is just one sin among many). Psalm 119:9 asks: “How can a [person] keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word” (NASB). To live in close relationship with God is to embrace Jesus and His Word because Jesus is defined in John 1:1 as the Word. To accept Him is to accept His Word. To love Him is to love His Word. To obey Him and abide in (or dwell closely with) Him, is to obey and abide in His Word. God’s Word is for us today just as much as Jesus is for us today. We can’t separate the two or claim we want Jesus, but His Word is no longer relevant. Abiding in His Word is not optional for the follower of Christ, it’s essential.
3. You might be avoiding other believers.
Ignoring God’s commands in His Word, harboring sin in our lives, or avoiding community with other Christ-followers can also lead to feelings of loneliness. In Psalm 25, David asked God to turn to him and be gracious to him because he was lonely and afflicted. David prayed, “Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins” (verses 16-18). David acknowledged a direct correlation between sin in his life and the loneliness he experienced—likely from a separation from God’s people. (While sin itself doesn’t separate us from God’s presence, we often voluntarily separate ourselves from God’s people when we’re in sin.) David ended his song with these words: “May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you” (verse 21). David knew that the key to personal fulfillment and even God’s protection was that he maintain integrity and uprightness and keep his hope firmly in the Lord. Integrity and uprightness can put us in a place where we experience less loneliness. And we can live with integrity when we embrace God’s Word and welcome the fellowship and accountability of God’s people.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Do you need to set your heart on growing in your love relationship with God? Do you need to get into His Word so you will know Him more fully and He will be more than just a belief system? Or do you need to connect with a local church and become more closely intertwined with other believers?
God is waiting for you to leave behind your loneliness and experience His presence—and His people—once again.
Lord, I realize You are not the One who distances Yourself. Help me to get back into Your Word and into the places where Your people gather. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Further Reading:
Romans 8:38-39.
For more on overcoming your loneliness, see Cindi’s book, The New Loneliness Devotional: 50 Days to a Closer Connection with God.
How did today’s devotional speak to you? Share your thoughts in the Crosswalk Devotional discussion.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Jeremy Perkins
Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker, Bible teacher, certified writing coach, and award-winning writer who helps women and couples strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is also a mother, a pastor’s wife who has been married 37 years, and the author of 19 books, including When Women Walk Alone (more than 160,000 copies sold), The New Loneliness: Nurturing Meaningful Connections When You Feel Isolated, and The New Loneliness Devotional: 50 Days to a Closer Connection with God. For more on her speaking ministry, coaching services for writers, and books to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.
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Listen to the Jesus Calling Podcast!
Welcome to this special bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast, inspired by the topical themes from Sarah Young’s seasonal prayer devotional Jesus Listens: Prayers for Every Season. Today, we are featuring guests who speak to themes that all of us might be experiencing in this season of winter. As the days grow shorter and the night longer, we are offered a rare gift: permission to stop. This season can be a challenging time for many, and if you are struggling with low spirits, please know you are not alone, and help is available. This episode is an opportunity to honor your weariness, to resist the urge to rush, and to discover the profound healing that happens when we simply let ourselves rest in the stillness. If you like what you hear, be sure to follow Jesus Calling on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
