When God Feels Distant

Maundy Thursday • April 9, 2020

By Jenny Sung, Executive Coordinator

In the course of a year, the view from my living room window has drastically changed. Moving from a townhome into a condo, I used to see the green grass, birds looking for bugs, and kids running around. I would hear children laughing, motorcycles revving, dogs barking. It felt like living life up close and personal. 

Now I wake up to a view of the city skyline against the ocean. It’s beautiful but different. Staring at the city from almost 30 floors up, watching the traffic, people like dots walking around, everything feels more distant. From up high, I feel removed from the sounds and smells of daily life. 

I thought about how sometimes it feels like God is distant and removed. Especially in this time of uncertainty and struggle, we might wonder if God cares. Is He just sitting up there watching, uninvolved, and indifferent? Or is He down here amongst us in the grittiness of life, weeping with us, carrying us in our most desperate times? 

I’ve had seasons like this, feeling utterly alone. We all go through different seasons, and I would never assume my experiences are the same as yours. All I can simply share is the truth of God’s unfailing love for you, and that He is with you through the seasons. Every season.

The God of the universe is the same God who is as close and personal as a best friend, a loving parent, a counselor, an advocate. God loved you so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, not only to be with us, but to actually become one of us and experience the fullness of humanity. He felt the sounds and smells of daily life. He felt laughter, sorrow, pain, and even death as He sacrificed His life for our sins. The Bible says the Word (Jesus) became flesh and made His dwelling among us ( John 1:14). I love the way the New Living Translation puts it:

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. 

Someone who is full of unfailing love and faithfulness cannot be distant or cold. He is with you, working in all sorts of ways each and every day. Sometimes we experience His presence in prayer- we know He is with us and there’s an overwhelming sense of peace, love, and comfort. Sometimes it’s through the Bible or a worship song- a verse or lyrics will jump out at you and help you in your situation. Sometimes it’s through circumstances––something coming through when you least expect it, timing of things or events that line up in miraculous ways. I love it when it happens through Christian community, like a friend calling or texting at just the right time, a Zoom worship, prayer, or small group time. God will work in different and unique ways through the small and momentous. 

Know that God is with you and wants a deep, personal relationship with you. He is with you in the joyful times and celebrations, in the midst of struggle and pain, and even in the mundane and boring. Even when things are uncertain, He is working all things together for good and we can trust in Him (Romans 8:28). 

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for always being with us. Help me to know you more and more in a personal way, to be in a loving, intimate relationship with you. 

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