One day you’re flying on the moon.
You feel so close to God. You feel Him near you.
You feel peace and serenity.
You feel like you’re perfectly in tune with Him and on the right track and then something comes along; a situation, a trial, an unkind word from a stranger, and all a sudden you’re angry and hating life.
You’re falling away from God and you wonder if He’s even there.
Feeling so close to Him feels amazing. Your life is blessed and you’re on track. When we are apart from God, life isn’t as great. We struggle. We can’t make the best decisions.
So how do you get back on track when you feel so far from God?
Let’s tackle that today!!!
7 Ways to Get Back on Track When You Feel So Far From God
First, let’s go over the #1 reason you feel so far away from God.
Sin.
Sin separates us from God
If you are feeling like you’re not close to God, more than likely, you’ve sinned in some way.
Sometimes I get rebellious. I’m like, “This is His fault. This is a trial I can’t handle because HE allowed something to happen.” I start to condone my own sin to myself, pretending like it’s His fault I sinned.
They did that too in the Garden of Eden. Adam said, “The woman YOU gave me…”
He was trying to pin the blame on God and sometimes we ALL do that!
It’s a sin to blame Him for our mistakes and so we just fall down more of a spiral away from Him.
We have to come back to Him. We have to really think about what we’ve done that’s sinful, and honestly, sometimes that’s hard because we want to hide our mistakes.
We want to pretend we didn’t sin or brush over it to make ourselves look better or feel better, but we all sin and if we say we don’t sin, it’s even worse!
So we have to really confront ourselves, “What have I sinned in?”
Really dig deep and if you can’t figure out how you’ve sinned, ask God to show you your sin.
If HE says you’re innocent and you haven’t sinned, then you’re good to go and you haven’t sinned. But many times He will bring something to your remembrance right there in the midst of your prayer.
At that point, you have two choices. Repent or continue pretending you haven’t sinned.
It’s harder to repent. It’s not the easiest of the choices, but it’s the RIGHT choice.
After you’ve repented and you really mean it, ask Him to forgive you and ask Him to help you know He’s there. Ask Him to show you He’s there with you. If He doesn’t show you…
He’s ALWAYS there
Whether we FEEL like He’s there or not, He’s there. I guarantee you.
Why?
Because the Bible SAYS He’s there! Hebrews 13:5 says, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,”.
He doesn’t leave His children. He doesn’t abandon us. Sometimes we may feel like He has, but He’s hasn’t.
Sometimes we are crying out for a solution to a trial we’re in and it seems like He’s not doing ANYTHING about it. It’s like He’s not even there, not working on it, not helping, it feels like He doesn’t care.
He does!
He’s working on it. We just can’t see it.
In times like that, I will ask Him to show me He’s working on the situation, and many times, He does. It may not be me seeing it how I want it to be, but I see He’s working on things and I know He’s there.
So, realize sin separates us from God, realize He’s there even if you don’t feel it, and then…
Get back into His Word
Ask anyone who’s not on track with God if they are reading the Bible every day and almost every single time, they will say, “No”.
That’s key here! We MUST be in God’s Word to abide in Him. To seek Him first, to find our refuge in Him, to drink of the living water.
If we are not in the Bible, we are basically telling Him to shut up!
How do I get that?
Because He speaks to us THROUGH His Word, so if we are not reading it, how can He speak to us?
If we are not listening to sermons, seeking His will, how can He talk to us? He doesn’t just talk out of the sky to us. He convicts us through His Word.
If you’re not reading the Bible, point blank, you’re telling Him to shut up! You are forcing Him to be quiet.
Does that please Him? No, of course not!
So then the question becomes, “Well, I don’t want to BE in His Word. What do I do then? Do I force myself to read the Bible even though I don’t want to? If God wants me to clean the inside of the cup, not just the outside, isn’t it just for show that I read the Bible when I don’t want to?”
I’ve struggled with this question myself in the past and I feel like God wants us to read the Bible anyway BUT pray that He gives us a desire for Him.
TELL HIM you don’t want Him right now.
TELL HIM you have a rebelling spirit.
He should be your best friend!
He already KNOWS your heart. He already KNOWS the truth. Why not admit it?
Then maybe it’s been a couple of days and you still don’t feel Him close, you’re still rebelling, He will call you back to Him.
He goes after His lost sheep. He will pursue you.
Maybe something will come up where you are brushed with danger and you look up and thank God for helping you.
Maybe a trial came close to you and you saw how He protected you and you know that He’s there.
Whatever happens, He will show you that He’s there and He will pursue you and bring you back into the fold. Tenderly, mercifully, He will come and bring you back.
If you are stubborn at that point, that’s pretty serious, so you definitely don’t want to be haughty, prideful, or rebellious. Let Him come after you. Let Him get you. Let Him bring you back. Let Him draw you near to Him.
Another reason you may not be feeling like He’s near is because…
You’re being worldly
The Bible is extremely clear, you cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. In context, it’s talking about money (Matthew 6:24), but it can apply to any situation. Can you love God and the world? No. You can’t.
If you love the world, you’ll not want God and as you love God more and more each day (which is how it should be), you’ll love the world less and less.
I have come to a point in my own life where I can repeat Paul’s words in Philippians 1:21–24: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.”
For me, I’d MUCH RATHER die and go be with Christ right here and right now, than to live and be living here in the world.
Dying is gain because I get a perfect world, Heaven, and I get to see and be with my ultimate best friend, the Lord Jesus Christ. But because it’s more fruitful that I live, meaning, I can serve God more here on Earth, for your sake, I stay.
Because I know God can use me here on Earth to minister and serve others, I stay here. It is for your sake I stay. It is for the sake of the world and my family I stay, but my heart and where I want to be is with God.
You can’t love God and the world.
Is it wrong to want to live on Earth? No, it’s not. But the more you come to love God, the more you WILL want to leave Earth. The more you’ll look forward to the day you meet Him face to face and get to be anywhere NEAR Him! But it’s a passion for doing His will and serving Him that you stay.
You don’t want your children to grow up without a mom and that’s totally normal. You don’t want to leave your family. Totally understandable. But being with God IS gain.
The more you choke out the world from your life, the more you stop spinning your wheels and overworking and doing too much, but rather, take time to rest and time to listen, the more you’ll feel connected to God.
You’re not paying attention to your relationship
It’s a relationship between you and God and you MUST cultivate time with Him just like you do with your kids.
Do you spend zero time with your kids a day for a year? If you did, what kind of relationship would you have with your children?
Same with God.
If you spend no time with Him, how can you cultivate that relationship? The deep relationship with Christ doesn’t happen overnight. It doesn’t happen overnight with ANYONE.
You have to invest in Him. You have to invest in your relationship and build it up.
Every day, I am reading the Bible (or listening to a sermon) at least 30 minutes a day. Sometimes, it’s 5 hours a day! There have been times where I’ve just been like, “Lord, I need an answer here, and I’m not going to stop praying till I get one”. It’s something I need to know quickly and my heart wants to hear from Him.
Usually, He answers right away, sometimes, He makes me wait, but He DOES answer. Because I love Him enough to keep searching (keep knocking) until He does!
So I’ll open my Bible and pray, “Lord, please show me what you would have me to do today. How can I serve the world for you today? Show me how I can be used. Lord, talk to me. Show me whatever it is you want me to know.”
And….He does.
I’ll start reading and He will convict my heart and He talks to me through those verses. He speaks to my heart through convictions. I get to know Him in a more intimate and deep way BECAUSE of that.
Try it!
If you wanna feel Him close to you, BE close to HIM!
Read your Bible daily. Ask Him to show you Himself. Sometimes, my prayer is just simply, “Lord, show me one thing about yourself that I don’t already know.”
And what does He do? He shows me and I learn about Him.
He’s not some far-off God that is separate from us. HE WANTS to be known by us! He desires an intimate relationship with us! He’s desperate for it He desires it so much. He loves us SOOOOO much, you have no idea! He longs to be close to us.
I remember one time, I was crying out to God about a situation that was deeply troubling me. I was in tears, pleading, “Lord, PLEASE end this trial. PLEASE bring resolution. PLEASE let this STOP!”
You know what He said to me? He convicted my heart, and it was as if He said, “What if you wanted ME as much as you want this?”
It really stopped me dead in my tracks.
I had to think about it for a while.
What if I DID want God as much as I wanted this situation resolved?
What if YOU want God as much as you want the thing you desire most in life too?
What if we wanted God as much as He wants us?
How much would our lives change, for the better?
It was then and there, I declared to myself that I would want God more. That no human, no situation, no other ANYTHING, could compare to the love I have with the living God.
And it was then and there that I chose God over the most desirable things on Earth for me.
GOD is #1. There are no other gods.
Yes, I love my family. Yes, I love others deeply. But there’s no one else, no thing else, that is above God.
What if you love God most? What if you want Him as much as you want other things? What if you want Him more?
How would life change for you?
It’s a sobering thought. One that begs to be answered.
Are you mad at Him?
Sometimes, we don’t even realize that we are mad at God but we are and that separates us from Him.
Internally, maybe we are rebelling and don’t see it. We don’t comprehend HOW we are mad at God.
Ask yourself the question, “Are you mad at God?”
Do you feel He’s done something unfair? Are you mad at Him?
If you ARE mad at Him, you have to forgive Him. Not because He’s done anything wrong, He’s perfect and can’t DO anything wrong, but because we have to forgive on OUR end.
We can’t continue to hold onto our anger for the Lord. We have to let it go and understand that He’s perfect and He’s right. He has your best intentions at heart.
You can’t deny that.
He died on the cross for you. He loves you perfectly and blamelessly. He adores you.
We can’t be mad at Him.
We can’t hold grudges against Him. It really only hurts ourselves when we do!
Lastly…
Encourage yourself
Listen to uplifting, Christian music. Here’s my personal YouTube Christian playlist filled to the brim with amazing songs!
Sing to God.
Read the Bible.
Listen to sermons.
Go to church more.
Talk to a friend about Christ.
Ask for prayer from a friend about your relationship with God. We are here to walk with each other, through the ups and downs of life. Sharing in the experiences, being faithful friends.
Be sure you’re encouraging your friends toward godliness and they are encouraging you.
When you feel down, go to them and ask for prayer. When they are down, encourage them. Don’t allow Satan to get a foothold and wreck your relationship with God.
There have been times where I’ve fallen off the path and I’ll be like, “Lord, I’ve gotten so far off track here, I don’t even know how to get back on. I can’t even SEE the right path anymore, I’m so far away. I don’t know where it is. I don’t know how to get back on, but I DO know that I want you, Lord, and I know that I want to be right with you, in your arms, holding onto you tightly. Help me get back on the right path. Show me the way to get right with you again. Light the path for me to get back on. Lead me back to you.”
And…He does.
Encourage yourself. Recruit help from friends if you need to, but get back on the right path!
