Mar 7, 2011
Why is God Distant Sometimes? Part 1-The Problem
Can you imagine the disciples signing up to follow Jesus, but then Jesus drops a thick scroll in their laps and wanders away? That’s how Christianity feels to me sometimes.
Christians have committed themselves to following Jesus, but then they’re handed this thick Bible and need to figure God out by thumbing through it. Who said that Christianity had homework?
And so we dig into the stories and hope that we’ll feel something, wondering what Christianity is all about. Is the deity in the Bible supposed to match the deity we experience today?
When praying we may feel discouraged because it seems like we’re just talking into the air. Where is God? What is the Holy Spirit up to?
When I read the Bible, I keep bumping into promises for abundance like a bubbling stream, for deserts turning into well-watered farms. We’re promised that God is seeking us, placing us where we are so that we can find him. Why does it feel like God is so hard to find if he’s actually reaching out to us, seeking those who are seeking him?
While I’m committed to studying the Bible and to persevering in prayer even when I don’t feel particularly spiritual, I want to know why God feels distant sometimes—perhaps he feels distant all of the time for some of us.
I’ve met Christians who seem to have a direct line to God. Other Christians have struggled through dark nights of the soul where there’s a long-term heavenly radio silence. What’s normal? What’s wrong, if anything?
We touched on this topic last week at small group, and the more I discuss it with fellow believers, I’m convinced that this is a complex issue that often defies one-size-fits-all answers. Having said that, the solution may not be as far away as we suspect. In fact, what we suspect may be a large part of the problem, but that’s for the next post.
As we dig into this topic, I’d like to look at the ways we can make things worse and then how we can take positive steps forward in our relationship with God, particularly in our prayer lives.
The Next Post: How We Make Things Worse.
Well, this oughta be good. I’m not sure what you mean by “making things worse,” but if the pay-off is experiencing more of his presence, then I’m in. Perhaps we can compare notes in this series, because when I casually speak to others of experiencing his presence, many believers look at me like I’m delusional. Perhaps I am.