4 Things to Do When You Feel Far From God

Being a Christian can sometimes feel like riding a rollercoaster. Our relationship with God changes through different seasons, and that is not a bad thing.

I've experienced very disappointing seasons in my faith and some very happy seasons. Though my feelings can constantly change when it comes to how I feel about God, God does not change. He remains the same.

Hebrews 13:8

Open up the Holy Bible.

Yes, absolutely. It may feel overwhelming or boring. I get it. When I was still young in my faith, it was difficult to open the Bible. I also did not feel interested in the Bible. It felt antiquated, but this is the way you receive the Truth of God, the truth of our Creator & Savior. He crafted the Bible carefully for it to be studied and for it to be consumed. My relationship with God started to drastically change when I committed to reading the Bible every morning. Plus, the Bible is so very interesting to study! There is so much history & the Old Testament paves the story to Jesus.

My relationship with God started to drastically change when I started reading the Bible every morning.

My best advice is to take a deep breath and genuinely ask God to remove the scales from your eyes & help you get started on reading the Bible. I recommend starting off with a devotional that will help you read the Bible in 1 or 2 years. That may seem like a lot to read, but trust me, you NEED to allow yourself to be consumed by the TRUTH.

Here is my recommendation:

Amazon

This is a good place to begin; however, full transparency, I eventually stopped using this devotional and continue reading the Bible on my own using other resources that helped me dive deeper into the Word of God. I am currently almost finished with the Old Testament- the Old Testament takes up more than half of the Bible!

Be honest with God & dive deeper

Being honest with God has changed my relationship with God. Similarly to Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden trying to avoid God seeing their nakedness, I also did this. I was scared of being vulnerable with God. God knows all of our sin & the depths of our sin. He doesn't need us to tell Him what we are doing because He doesn't know. He welcomes us to tell Him.

Be honest with yourself in this very moment:

What is currently taking up all of your attention or what sin are you currently indulging in?

If you've admitted something to yourself that you have been wanting to avoid, I suggest it is time to come clean to God about it & ask Jesus to forgive you.

It is crucial that we are aware of the sins we are committing & invite Jesus into this area of our lives so that may be redeemed changed.

Give yourself a good silent moment

Take a moment where you are in your life right now, take a deep breath, and close your eyes. As you have your eyes closed, try to be aware of how your body feels and how your emotions feel.

You may feel yourself anxious, tired, sad, depressed, worried, unhappy, confused, fearful, doubtful, etc...

You may feel anxious, tired, sad, depressed, worried, unhappy, confused, fearful, doubtful, etc...

Or you may feel happy and other positive emotions. Whatever the emotion that you feel, just sit in it. Once you sit in it for a moment or two, dive deeper into what may be causing this emotion and begin to question yourself:

1. What is causing me to feel this way?

2. Who is causing me to feel this way?

3. If I make some changes, could these emotions change?

After giving yourself several moments to think about your emotional well being, invite God into this part of your life.

This is an example prayer I have prayed to God

"God, I come to you right now feeling anxious/worried/depressed/ sad and I want to give you this problem I am experiencing. Your Will be done."

Being aware of how we are doing can help us understand part of the reason why we may feel distant from God. Such as being so distracted with emotional difficulties that you are not focusing on God.

Take time away from the constant distractions (the optional ones)

It is easy to allow ourselves to be distracted by so many things in the world. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Pinterest, etc.. So many of the different reasons we may love these apps is because we were created for community + to interact with others. But, remember these apps can become an obsession and/or addiction.

I often used to catch myself procrastinating and using social media to kill time. I'm still guilty of falling into this, but now when I am aware that is what I am doing, I delete my apps. Yes, I delete them. I give myself a break from these apps that are constantly fighting for my attention, so I can pay attention to things that matter.

I challenge you to challenge your distractions.

I challenge you to challenge your distractions.

Be self-aware of what may be causing you to not be able to focus time on Bible study & praying.

To recap, the 4 things to do when you feel far from God

1. Open up the Holy Bible

2. Be honest with God & dive deeper

3. Give yourself a good silent moment

4. Take time away from the constant distractions

Please, don't hesitate to reach out if you need prayer or someone to listen you! I would love to hear from you<3