Be encouraged when you feel distant from God for it is in these moments you have the opportunity to demonstrate something highly valued to God...
We desire for Him to be constantly with us. We yearn for Him to provide the strength and the wisdom we need to live each moment best.
And while He IS with us all the time, it doesn't always FEEL that way.
We can't hear His voice...
We don't see Him working to improve our circumstances...
We don't watch Him intervene in others' lives the way we want...
In these moments of feeling distant from God, many of us turn to our spiritual disciplines for help. We redouble our efforts to go to Church, read our Bibles, and pray throughout the day.
We understand these spiritual activities are not guaranteed to help us feel God's presence. But without them, our chances of deepening our relationship with Him are unlikely.
So what are we do?
Believe it or not, there is a hidden opportunity in these moments for us. A slight shift in our perspective can encourage us in ways we wouldn't expect.
It is an opportunity to please God greatly and build up our spiritual treasures in heaven.
Let me explain...
Feeling Distant from God
Feeling distant from God is all too common - especially in our increasingly distracting world.
We are far too likely to let other things - even good things like taking care of family and others - consume the time we had set aside for communion with God alone.
In these cases, we can certainly take some responsibility for feeling distant from God.
Similar to every relationship, when we choose to spend little or no time with someone, we grow apart.
But there are also times when we do try to spend time with God and still feel distant from Him.
These moments are much more difficult to explain.
I have always taken some comfort and truth from the fact that even King David - a man recognized for his heart for God - went through similar droughts with God.
In Psalm 13, David cries out to God several times "How long?" Most of us can relate to that kind of desperation.
If King David, one of the greatest Israeli leaders of all time, felt distant from God at times, we might be wise to expect the same (or more) in our own spiritual lives.
But these times don't have to be completely full of desperation. There is a benefit waiting for us to grab it should we choose to shift our perspective slightly.
A Secret Benefit of Feeling Distant From God
As I started examining my own drought with God, I became aware of an opportunity I'd been missing.
Specifically, I realized that during these moments, I had the opportunity to put my faithfulness on display for Him.
After all, faith is belief in the things that remain unseen. When God remains hidden from us, it takes faith to continue to work to build relationship with Him. It takes faith to pray to a God that feels like He's not listening. It takes faith to believe in the promises He's made in the Bible that we do matter (Ephesians 1) and He does care (John 3:16).
And faith is one of the things that pleases God most when we show it. In fact, faith is one characteristic that has the power to impress Jesus - remember when He marveled at the faithfulness of the Roman Centurion in healing his child (Luke 7:1-10)?
In addition, God rewards faith. Consider how often Jesus heals the sick because of their faith in Him (e.g., Mark 10:52, Mark 11:24, Matthew 9:2-6, Matthew 15:28).
Conclusion
None of us likes to feel distant from God.
But if it happened to David, it can happen to us, too.
While we should never give up in working to feel closer to God (i.e., building deeper relationship with Him), we can find some joy during moments He feels distant.
We can shift our perspective to consider our opportunity to demonstrate faithfulness to Him. It is a true act of faith when we trust our relationship with God exists despite feeling distant from Him.
