When God Feels Distant
Sometimes God feels close—so close we can literally feel his presence. We stand on a mountaintop, faith-filled experience, knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that God is real and that he loves us. Camps, retreats, random Sunday mornings, sometimes expectedly, sometimes not—at different times God shows up in tangible ways, and his presence envelops us.
At other times, the opposite feels true. He feels distant, cold, unresponsive. Life hurls unrelenting pain and sorrow upon us, wave after wave. We witness injustice, but it seems like God doesn’t see it. We experience tragedy, and it feels like God doesn’t care. The mountaintop experience is gone; the darkness of the valley now surrounds us.
Maybe that’s how you feel today. Maybe you’ve felt that way in the past week, month, year, or decade. Maybe you haven’t—but maybe you will. When we’re experiencing the lows of life and God feels distant, we need to ask two important questions:
What is true? Is God actually distant?
How should I feel at this moment? Is my anger, frustration, anxiety, or sorrow justified?
Thankfully, the Bible provides answers to these questions. As we study Habakkuk together in November, God will reveal to us what is true—a solid bedrock upon which we can stand firm through life’s difficult moments. He will also reveal to us how we should feel, both when we’re experiencing those mountaintop moments, and when we feel stranded in the valley. Through God’s teaching in the book of Habakkuk—this little-studied and under-appreciated book—we can gain the perspective we need to deal with the moments when God feels distant.
I hope you will invite people to join us as we gather together to learn from God’s Word. Everybody has had, is having, or will have moments when God feels distant. Let’s gain a greater appreciation for who God is and what he’s doing in the world as we study this book together. And as always, feel free to reach out if you need somebody to talk to (314-739-1525; Britton@feefeeb.org).
In Christ,
Pastor Britton