Why Does God Feel Far Away
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Psalm 16:8-11
We come this morning to the sixth message in our series, Ever Wonder Why?
So far, we have dealt with suffering, hell, prayer, trust, and change.
This morning we come to another question that many believers quietly carry in their hearts.
What do I do when God feels far away?
That is a very real question.
There are people who love the Lord, read their Bible, come to church, bow their head in prayer, and still walk through seasons when they do not feel much of anything.
They hear others talk about feeling the presence of God.
They hear people speak of peace, nearness, comfort, tears, warmth, and joy.
But they look at their own heart and think, “Why do I feel numb?”
“Why does God seem so distant?”
“Is He still there?”
“Am I doing something wrong?”
That question usually rises in hard seasons.
It rises after loss.
It rises in grief.
It rises in disappointment.
It rises in confusion.
It rises when prayer feels dry.
It rises when worship feels flat.
It rises when the heart is tired and the soul is thirsty.
The psalm before us this morning is a precious one.
Psalm 16:8 says, “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
Verse 11 says, “In thy presence is fulness of joy.”
What a promise that is.
God’s presence is not a small thing.
God’s presence steadies.
It guides.
It strengthens.
It comforts.
And yet, many sincere believers would say, “I know those verses are true, but there are times when I do not feel that nearness at all.”
The good news is that the Bible does not ignore that struggle.
14 Lord, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me?
David cried out in the Psalms.
Paul walked through long seasons of obscurity.
And even our Lord Jesus Christ cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
So if you have ever walked through a season when God felt far away, you are not alone.
The great truth of this message is this.
Just because God feels distant does not mean God is absent.
I. Sometimes We Mistake Feelings For Faith
I. Sometimes We Mistake Feelings For Faith
As we begin, we need to understand that one reason God may seem far away is because we often expect His presence to always feel dramatic.
A. We Often Oversensationalize God’s Presence
A. We Often Oversensationalize God’s Presence
There are times when God’s presence is felt in powerful ways.
There are moments in worship when tears flow.
There are seasons in prayer when peace settles deeply.
There are times when the heart is overwhelmed with joy.
Those moments are real, and we thank God for them.
But if we begin to think that God is only near when our emotions are stirred, we will create confusion for ourselves.
Even when Christ was here on earth physically we saw people wanting to lean upon signs and wonders instead of the Truth that Jesus spoke.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
There have always been people looking for a sign.
They want something visible.
Something dramatic.
Something extraordinary.
Something they can point to and say, “Now I know.”
But the Christian life is not built on signs alone.
It is built on faith.
7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
If you had to feel something spectacular every day in order to know God was near, you would not be walking by faith.
You would be walking by sensation.
Not only do we often oversensationalize God’s presence, but we also forget that ordinary moments do not mean absent grace.
B. God’s Presence Is Often Known In Ordinary Ways
B. God’s Presence Is Often Known In Ordinary Ways
The Lord does sometimes give powerful, unforgettable moments.
But more often, He meets His people in quieter ways.
He meets you in the morning when the verse you read is exactly what your heart needed.
He meets you when a brother or sister reaches out at the right time.
He meets you when a hymn speaks straight into your burden.
He meets you when a child prays with simple faith.
He meets you when His Word steadies your heart in the middle of an ordinary day.
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.
A good lamp does not usually blind you with brilliance.
It quietly gives enough light for the next step.
That is often how the presence of God works.
Not always in thunder.
Not always in fireworks.
Not always in outward emotion.
But in steady light.
In daily bread.
In faithful help.
In quiet strength.
There is another truth we need to see here too.
If we mistake feelings for faith, then we may wrongly conclude that because we do not feel Him strongly, He must not be there.
C. Feelings Are Real, But They Are Not Final
C. Feelings Are Real, But They Are Not Final
Feelings matter.
God made us emotional creatures.
But feelings are not always accurate interpreters of reality.
There are days when you feel loved and days when you do not.
But the love of God has not changed with your mood.
There are days when you feel strong and days when you feel weak.
But the promises of God have not changed with your condition.
There are days when you feel spiritually tender and days when you feel dull.
But the character of God has not changed with your feelings.
The Christian life is not built on denying emotions.
But it is built on something deeper than emotion.
It is built on the truth of God.
That leads us to the second truth.
If sometimes we mistake feelings for faith, there are also times when the problem lies deeper within us.
II. Sometimes Sin Dulls Our Sense Of God
II. Sometimes Sin Dulls Our Sense Of God
The Bible is honest that there are times when God feels far because our hearts have grown cold.
A. A Hardened Heart Cannot Easily Sense Spiritual Things
A. A Hardened Heart Cannot Easily Sense Spiritual Things
15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
their heart is waxed gross (that is fat).
That is a sobering phrase.
A heart can grow dull.
It can grow calloused.
It can become less responsive to truth.
That can happen through disappointment.
That can happen through hurt.
That can happen through bitterness.
But very often it happens through tolerated sin.
Sin dulls spiritual sensitivity.
It does not remove God from His throne.
But it clouds our fellowship with Him.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear me:
That does not mean a believer loses salvation.
It does mean sin affects communion.
There is a transition here that needs to be felt.
If a hardened heart cannot easily sense spiritual things, then ongoing sin is especially dangerous because it numbs us while convincing us we are fine.
B. Ongoing Sin Numbs The Soul
B. Ongoing Sin Numbs The Soul
When a believer begins making peace with sin, he may still attend church, still speak Christian language, still move through religious routines, and still be far colder than he realizes.
He can become accustomed to impurity.
He can grow comfortable with bitterness.
He can excuse pride.
He can entertain lust.
He can feed jealousy.
He can hold unforgiveness.
And little by little the heart becomes less tender.
Less responsive.
Less broken.
Less hungry.
Sin does not satisfy.
It deadens.
It is like covering yourself so heavily that you no longer feel what is around you.
In the same way, when the soul is covered with sin, it becomes less sensitive to the nearness of God.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
That means the Spirit of God in the believer can be grieved.
This is why one of the first questions we should ask in dry seasons is not, “God, where did You go?”
But, “Lord, is there anything in me that is grieving You?”
But not only can sin dull our sense of God, but even religious performance can do the same if it replaces real devotion.
C. Performance Can Replace Presence
C. Performance Can Replace Presence
It is possible to become busy with religious things while missing the Lord Himself.
You can read your Bible to check a box.
You can pray because you know you should.
You can serve faithfully and still not draw near from the heart.
The Pharisees were masters of outward religion, but they were strangers to true nearness with God.
The Christian life is not meant to be mechanical.
It is meant to be relational.
God does not merely want your activity.
He wants your heart.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
That leads us to the third truth.
If some seasons of distance come from oversensationalizing, and some come from sin or hard-heartedness, there are also times when God is doing something merciful even in the felt distance.
III. Sometimes God Uses Distance To Draw Us Closer
III. Sometimes God Uses Distance To Draw Us Closer
One of the most tender truths in this whole message is that God may allow a season of dryness, not to destroy us, but to deepen our pursuit of Him.
A. God Often Uses Need To Awaken Desire
A. God Often Uses Need To Awaken Desire
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
That verse is full of hope.
God is not far.
And yet He ordains life in such a way that people feel their need for Him and are driven to seek Him.
This is often how the Lord works.
Need awakens desire.
Hunger makes food precious.
Thirst makes water sweet.
Weariness makes rest desirable.
And spiritual dryness can make the soul cry, “Lord, I need You.”
That cry is not a bad thing.
Comfort can make people careless.
Ease can make people self-sufficient.
Prosperity can make prayer shallow.
But when God allows us to feel our need, He is often drawing us out of self-sufficiency and into pursuit.
So, if God uses need to awaken desire, then spiritual longing itself may be evidence that He is already at work.
B. Holy Longing Is Often A Sign Of Grace
B. Holy Longing Is Often A Sign Of Grace
A spiritually dead heart does not hunger for God.
A spiritually cold heart may go through motions.
But when a believer begins to ache for God, when he begins to say, “Lord, I want to know You more,” that longing itself is significant.
1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
That is not the cry of a soul that has stopped caring.
That is the cry of a soul that is being drawn.
God often stirs desire before He grants deeper enjoyment.
He makes us thirst so we will drink.
He makes us seek so we will find.
And He has promised in Jeremiah 29:13-14
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
There is one more step we need to take here.
If God uses distance to draw us closer, then the proper response is not to pull away in discouragement but to press in with faith.
C. Dry Seasons Should Move Us Toward God, Not Away From Him
C. Dry Seasons Should Move Us Toward God, Not Away From Him
What do you do when God feels far away?
You seek Him.
You draw near.
You open His Word.
You pray.
You come into His house.
You call upon His name.
You keep pursuing.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
That is not a vague religious idea.
That is a promise.
Do not let a dry season drive you into spiritual laziness.
Do not let numbness push you into unbelief.
Do not let a quiet season make you assume God has abandoned you.
Sometimes the truest act of faith is to seek Him when the feelings are absent.
That brings us to the final and most comforting truth of the message.
When God feels far away, the Christian has something stronger than feeling.
He has the promise of God’s presence.
IV. God’s Presence Is Promised In Christ
IV. God’s Presence Is Promised In Christ
This is where the message must land in our hearts.
Not in our ability to generate feeling, but in God’s unchanging promise.
A. God’s Presence Is Not Measured Only By Emotion
A. God’s Presence Is Not Measured Only By Emotion
8 I have set the Lord always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Notice the language.
Not, “I always feel the Lord before me.”
But, “I have set the LORD always before me.”
This is a choice of faith.
This is deliberate confidence.
David says, “Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
How did David know that?
Because God had promised His presence.
Not because David always felt the same thing.
This is so important.
There will be moments of strong emotion in the Christian life.
But there will also be many ordinary days.
And on ordinary days, the believer still lives under extraordinary promises.
There is a transition here from the promise in the Psalms to the fulfillment in Christ.
B. God Has Come Near In Jesus Christ
B. God Has Come Near In Jesus Christ
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
God with us!
What a wonderful truth.
The answer to spiritual distance is not found in us climbing up to God.
It is found in God coming down to us in Christ.
Jesus Christ is Emmanuel.
God with us.
That means the Lord has not remained distant.
He has drawn near.
He has entered our world.
He has taken on flesh.
He has walked our roads.
He has borne our griefs.
He has carried our sorrows.
And even when He cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
He was doing so as the sin-bearer for His people.
He entered the deepest darkness so that those who trust Him would never be finally forsaken.
That is the heart of the gospel.
There is one more progression here.
If God has come near in Christ, then the believer can rest in this truth even when the emotions are weak.
C. God’s Presence Must Be Believed By Faith
C. God’s Presence Must Be Believed By Faith
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
That is not poetry only.
That is promise.
That means when you do not know what to do, He is with you as your guide.
When you are hurting, He is with you as your comforter.
When you are lonely, He is with you as your companion.
When you are anxious, He is with you as your peace.
When you are weary, He is with you as your strength.
When you are battling sin, He is with you as your Savior.
The Christian life is not sustained by emotional highs alone.
It is sustained by faith in the Word of God.
Faith says, “Lord, I do not always feel what I wish I felt, but I believe what You have said.”
Faith says, “You are with me.”
Faith says, “You are near.”
Faith says, “You will never leave me.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
So what do you do when God feels far away?
You do not assume He is absent.
You remember that feelings are not the only measure of His presence.
You examine your heart.
You confess sin.
You refuse to substitute performance for devotion.
You understand that sometimes God is drawing you into deeper pursuit.
And above all, you cling to the promises of God in Christ.
My friend, there may be a season in your life right now when you feel numb.
You may read and feel little.
You may pray and feel little.
You may sing and feel little.
But do not conclude that God has left you.
He has not.
His presence is not suspended because your emotions are weak.
His promise is stronger than your feeling.
Seek Him.
Call on Him.
Open His Word.
Draw near to Him.
And believe His promise.
He is not far from every one of us.
Perhaps there is someone here this morning who does not know Christ at all.
You may say, “I do not just feel distant from God. I am distant from God.”
The good news of the gospel is that God has come near in Jesus Christ.
Jesus died for sinners and rose again.
If you will repent and trust Him, He will forgive your sins, make you new, and bring you near.
That is the beauty of the gospel.
The God who feels far to sinners is willing to draw near through Christ.
And for the child of God, let David’s words steady your heart this morning.
“I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
