When God Feels Distant

series: DRAW NEAR

Week 2 — When God Feels Distant

last week we heard an invitation.

It was an invitation, NOT to do more —

but about coming closer.

to........“Draw near to God.”

This week......many of us responded sincerely.

We prayed a little more.

We tried to quiet some noise.

We leaned in with intention.

But let me ask you something honestly this morning…

What happens when you draw near —

and God doesn’t feel any closer?

What happens when prayer feels quiet?

When Scripture feels dry?

When worship doesn’t move you the way it used to?

I THINK If we’re honest,

that’s where faith starts to feel confusing.

IT’S in those moments, THAT the thoughts come quickly:

Maybe I’m doing something wrong

Maybe God is disappointed

Maybe God pulled away

But Scripture doesn’t leave us guessing here.

It gives us language for this season —

and it gives us hope, not shame.

LET’S LOOK AT....

📖 PSALM 13:1–2

Psalm 13:1–2 NIV

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

These aren’t the words of someone WHO IS abandoning God.

These are the words of someone who loves God enough to be honest with Him.

David doesn’t walk away.

He leans in — even with questions.

And I THINK that tells us something important right from the start:

Feeling distant from God does not mean you are failing spiritually.

SO TODAY....

Before we can talk about why God feels distant,

we have to deal with what we usually assume first.

THAT IS.....THAT GOD MUST HAVE PULLED AWAY

Because when silence shows up,

we don’t usually ask what God is doing —

we ask........GOD, WHERE ARE YOU AT???

So let’s start with this foundational truth:

1. GOD’S SILENCE IS NOT GOD’S ABSENCE

I WANT TO START HERE, because this is where many people get stuck.

Have you ever noticed how quickly we interpret silence as distance?

FOR EXAMPLE.....If someone we love stops responding,

we assume something is wrong.

AND MOST LIKELY THERE IS. NOT ALWAYS, BUT MAYBE

THE PROBLEM IS.....

we do the same thing with God.

HERE IS THE THING THOUGH...

Scripture teaches us that God’s presence is not measured by volume

and it’s not measured by emotion.

OH LORD I LOVE THIS.....

📖 PSALM 139:7–10

Psalm 139:7–10 NIV

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

David isn’t asking if God is present —

he’s asking ...........where God ....WOULD YOU NOT be.

In other words,

God’s presence is constant — AND WATCH THIS....

EVEN WHEN HE IS QUIET!

OH COME ON SOMEBODY......SOMEONE NEEDS TO HEAR THIS TODAY

some of you know this tension ALL TO well.....RIGHT

You’re praying.

You’re showing up.

But it JUST feels quiet.

And the quiet makes you wonder:......Did God step back?

HAS HE PULLED AWAY FROM ME

I LOVE JOB IN THE BIBLE......SOME OF YOU KNOW THE STORY

EVERYTHING WAS STRIPPED FROM HIM....

HIS KIDS, HIS WEALTH, HIS HEALTH

AND HIS WIFE LOOKED AT HIM AND SAID......JOB WHY DON’T YOU JUST CURSE GOD AND DIE?

HE SAID.....YOU FOOLISH WOMAN, ARE WE ONLY TO ACCEPT THE GOOD FORM GOD AND NOT THE TROUBLES?

JOB UNDERSTOOD THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD....

DID HE PRAY HE WOULD DIE? YES

DID HE QUESTION GOD....YES

BUT HE REMAINED

HE CONTINUED TO DRAW CLOSE TO GOD

LOOK WHAT HE WRITES IN THE MIDST OF HIS PAIN......

📖 JOB 23:8–9

Job 23:8–9 NIV

8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. 9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.

I LOVE THIS SCRIPTURE BECAUSE.....IT FEELS REAL

Job can’t sense God — HE FEELS ABSENT

but God is still working.

And here’s the truth we need to hear:

Silence does not mean absence.

Quiet does not mean inactivity.

Sometimes God is doing something deeper than what you can feel in the moment OF OUR PAIN AND AGONY

SO,

if God hasn’t actually gone anywhere,

then the next honest question becomes:

Why does the distance feel so real?

Why does God feel SO far AWAY.......even when Scripture says He’s near?

That leads ME to something important THAT we don’t talk about enough:

2. DISTANCE IS OFTEN PERCEIVED, NOT POSITIONAL

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THIS PASTOR CHRIS???

Let me ask it this way:

Have you ever been in the same room with someone you love and still felt far apart?

Nothing HAS changed positionally —

but something shifted relationally.

That’s EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

GOD DOESN’T CHANGE

HE DOESN’T DECIDE THAT HE’S DONE WITH YOU AND THEN LEAVES

THE PROBLEM AND THE DISTANCE THAT WE FEEL IS.......THE RELATIONAL SHIFT IN US

GOD’S POSITION IS THE SAME

BUT OUR POSITION HAS CHANGED

OH MY LORD...HELP US

📖 DEUTERONOMY 31:6

Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV

6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

God doesn’t leave.

He doesn’t drift.

He doesn’t take breaks from His people.

THANKFULLY.....His nearness is not based on our consistency —

it’s based on His covenant OF faithfulness.

And yet… God can feel distant.

Why?

Because distance is often not about location —it’s about attention.

OH COME ON SOMEBODY.....

OUR ATTENTION HAS SHIFTED

DISTRACTIONS CAUSE DISTANCE

WHEN OUR MINDS BEGIN TO FOCUS ON FLESHLY THINGS

WHEN WE BECOME DISTRACTED......GUESS WHAT

GOD IS NO LONGER PRIORITY IN OUR LIVES

MEANING OUR REALTIONSHIP WITH HIM HAS SHIFTED

AND A REALIGNMENT IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO DRAW NEAR

OH MY LORD....I WISH SOMEBODY WAS GETTIN THIS

WATCH THIS.....

📖 ROMANS 8:1

Romans 8:1–8 NIV

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

THEREFORE THERE IS NOW.........THERE USE TO BE BUT THERE IS NOW

NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS

WHY????

BECAUSE HE HAS SET YOU FREE

For many people, the sense of distance doesn’t come from sin — it comes from discouragement.

From guilt.

From disappointment.

From unanswered prayers.

And slowly, we stop expecting God to be near.

DOEOSN ANYBODY KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT???

Most believers don’t walk away from God suddenly.

They just stop noticing Him.

THEIR MIND IS LED BY THE FLESH AND NOT THE SPIRIT

WHICH CAUSES CONDEMNATION.....

WHICH CAUSES....THE FEELING THAT GOD IS FAR AWAY

And here’s where faith often gets tested the most.

Because once we UNDERSTAND AND accept that God hasn’t left,

we’re still left with a harder tension:

If God is near…

why doesn’t He explain Himself?

Why doesn’t He fix it faster?

Why doesn’t He show us what He’s doing?

WHY DOESN’T HE SHOW UP WHEN ...I...NEED HIM TO?

Scripture gives us LANGUAGE for THIS too:

3. GOD OFTEN HIDES HIS HAND BUT NEVER HIS HEART

If we’re honest,

what makes faith hard isn’t pain.

It’s.....not knowing why.

OH COME ON.......ANYBODY FEEL ME???

We can handle difficulty.

What we struggle with is....

silence without explanation.

WIVES...LISTEN.....WE STRUGGLE WITH THIS

WE NEED EXPLANATIONS

SILENCE WITHOUT EXPLANATION KILLS US

JUST TELL US WHATS WRONG AND WELL FIX IT

HUSBANDS....THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER

THEY DON’T NEED YOU TO FIX IT...

AND BY THE WAY....YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW WHATS WRONG.....LOL

ALL JOKING ASIDE.......

WE ALL STRUGGLE WITH THIS IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

And Scripture is honest about this.

LETS LOOK AT IT....

📖 ISAIAH 45:15

Isaiah 45:15 NIV

15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Savior of Israel.

Hidden does not mean harsh. Hidden does not mean uncaring.

Sometimes God withholds explanation

to deepen OUR trust.

📖 DEUTERONOMY 8:2–3 SAYS IT THIS WAY

Deuteronomy 8:2–3 NIV

2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

God allowed Israel to feel hunger —

not to harm them —

but to teach them dependence ON HIM

And here’s the hard truth:

If God explained everything,

faith wouldn’t be necessary.

OH COME ON SOMEBODY....

God may hide His hand —

but He never turns His heart away.

And if that’s true —

if God hasn’t left,

and His heart hasn’t changed —

then here’s the quiet encouragement we often miss:

God may be closer in this season than we’ve allowed ourselves to believe.

THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH OUR CARNAL MINDS...

WE’RE SO QUICK TO ASSUME THE WORST

INSTEAD OF BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT AND TRUSTING THAT HE’S GOT US

TRUSTING THAT HE IS JUST QUIETLY WORKING IN OUR LIVES

WHICH LEADS ME TO #4.....

4. GOD IS NEARER THAN YOU THINK

Some of you walked in today thinking,

If God was near, I’d feel it.

But what if God is closer than you realize —

MAYBE HE’S just not louder than your pain?

THE WORD TELLS US....THAT

📖 PSALM 34:18

Psalm 34:18 NIV

18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS???

God does not pull away in pain.

He moves closer.

OH COME ON SOMEBODY......

DON’T GET ME WRONG THERE ARE TIMES WHEN GOD WITHHOLDS HIS PRESENCE

HE WITH HOLDS ANSWERS TO OUR PRAYERS

HE WITH HOLDS BLESSINGS

AND THIS IS USUALLY DUE TO SIN THAT IS UNDEALT WITH

BUT....sometimes the reason God feels distant is because He’s working right at the wound.

THAT’S CLOSE

WATCH THIS......

📖 LUKE 24:15–16

Luke 24:15–16 NIV

15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.

The disciples didn’t lose Jesus.

They just didn’t recognize Him.

YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT....

The absence of awareness

is not the absence of presence.

So now we come to the most practical question of all.

What do we do when God still feels quiet?

What do we do when clarity hasn’t come yet?

What do we do when faith feels harder than it used to?

Scripture is surprisingly simple here:

5. WHEN GOD FEELS DISTANT, KEEP DRAWING NEAR

................WORSHIP TEAM JOIN ME.......................

This is the moment where many people quit.

Not because they don’t love God —

but because they’re tired of not feeling anything.

OH COME ON SOMEBODY.....I’M TALKING TO SOMEONE

Scripture doesn’t tell us to pull away in silence.

It tells us to remain.

📖 HEBREWS 10:22

Hebrews 10:22 NIV

22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Notice it doesn’t say:

Draw near when it feels good.

It says:

Draw near EVEN WHEN IT DOESN’T.

OH COME ON SOMEBODY...

Faith doesn’t wait for confirmation.

Faith moves toward God in trust.

FAITH DOESN’T WAIT FOR THINGS TO FEEL GOOD OR LOOK GOOD

FAITH ENABLES US TO DRAW NEAR REGARDLESS OF HOW WE FEEL

📖 GALATIANS 6:9

Galatians 6:9 NIV

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

So don’t quit praying because it’s quiet.

Don’t stop opening Scripture because it feels dry.

Don’t disengage because clarity hasn’t come yet.

faith that only follows feelings is fragile faith.

Paul doesn’t warn us about persecution here.

He warns us about weariness.

Because weariness is what makes people drift.

Weariness is what closes Bibles.

Weariness is what silences prayer.

Galatians 6:9 isn’t a suggestion —

it’s a challenge.

Don’t become weary.

Because the real test of faith is not whether you can draw near when God feels close…

It’s whether you will keep drawing near when He doesn’t.

AMEN?

🎯 RESPONSE MOMENT — “STAY NEAR”

Some of you have been tempted to pull back.

Not because you don’t love God —

but because you’re tired of not feeling anything.

So here’s the challenge:

👉 Will you stay near even when you don’t feel Him? 👉 Will you keep praying when answers don’t come quickly? 👉 Will you keep opening Scripture when it feels dry? 👉 Will you choose faith over feelings?

If you’re willing to make that commitment —

Then THESE ALTARS ARE OPEN....WOULD YOU COME

Coming forward doesn’t mean you have answers. It means you’re choosing faith over feelings.

closing prayer.....

As we get ready to go, let me leave you with this question:

If God doesn’t change the volume this week…

will you still choose closeness?

Because here’s what we’re committing to:

We’re not following God for the feeling.

We’re following Him for who He is.

AMEN?

Let’s pray.

“Lord, we choose faith over feelings. We choose nearness over noise. Teach us to stay. Strengthen us as we draw near. In Jesus’ name, amen.”