Do you ever feel like Christ is far away, that He is not the same God that Abraham, Isaak and Jacob knew? Do you feel like when you pray and talk with Him that He doesn’t hear and that He’s about a million miles away?
There’s nothing wrong with God, it’s not that He has changed in any way, He doesn’t just distance Himself from us for no reason. The wrong is in us, our lives cause the split between God and us. Our sins got between Him and us so that he doesn’t hear. There is a seperation and there is no filling that seperation until we seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness. ALL THINGS will be added unto us, when seeking after His kingdom and His righteousness becomes our main desire. It is then that the seperation fades away and it no longer feels like He is worlds apart from us!
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
When Adam and Eve sinned and they heard the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of day their first reaction was to hide from the presence of the Lord. Why hide? Because they were both guilty before God, they had not yet repented of the sin that sunk this world into chaos. Notice how they hid themself from the presence of the Lord. It may feel like God is the only one that has distanced himself from us but notice how Adam and his wife hid themselves from Him. They also took some steps to cause a separation from God and this is what we also do when we live in sin, and do not with king David sorrowfully repent from the heart . If we notice it or not, we are also hiding ourselves from the presence of God and are not fixing the gap, while our sins are little concern to us.
Acts 17
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious (to believe in things that are not real)
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Paul stood in the midst of a people and beheld their devotions. He saw that they were ignorantly worshiping something that was not God. He had to redirect them to the God that made this world and all things therein. How can we have the same devotion that had these people that were ignorantly worshiping something that was not God? All we need is a heart that has no deep desire to be one with God. To not have a desire to be one with Him is to have a desire to be one with the enemy, whether we are aware of that or not. We rather choose to remain carnal minded and a carnal mind is a mind that serves the enemy. To not be one with Him means that divinity has not made a home in our heart which means a other master must then occupy the place that should be God’s dwelling place.
Ezekiel 33
30 As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’
31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.
32 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.
These people were talking about God, even encouraging others to come and hear what the Lord has to say. They sit before him, hearing His words, BUT THEY DO NOT DO THEM. With the mouth only is much love shown but their hearts pursue their own gain. It explains that God is to them only a lovely song. Where the words are heard but they are not done. Much is required from the hearers and if we want to end this distance between Him and us then He has to be more then a lovely song to us, He wants obedience.
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
How in vain is it to come to church or to read His word if the reader and listener only reads and listens but feels no desire to be a doer?
Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
Drawing near to Him only with the mouth but their hearts are far away. Our mouth may fool most of humanity but we cannot fool the one that knows that our hearts are worlds apart from Him.
Acts 17
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
God did not create the world in which we live and then go sit in a rocking chair and watch what His creation would do. Paul told us that God created us in such a way that we (mankind) would long to seek Him and reach out to Him. Paul described God as not being far from each one of us. Have you ever felt like your life was off track? Have you ever been in a place where you had no certainty about where your life was or where it was going? Even today, do you for the most part feel alone, confused, and that life has an overall sense of meaninglessness? Much of this is natural. God has placed something within us that longs for meaning and purpose, and when those longings are not fulfilled we feel empty and lost.
Matthew 7
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness
Isaiah 59
1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
God was not powerless. He was not deaf. The problem…the issue…it was with Israel, not God. Israel insisted on continuing in sin. She was stubborn, insisting on doing things her own way, and not God’s. Sin separates us from God as much today as it did then. This separation does exactly what God said it will. Being separated from Him we will feel like He is far away.
When the 2 criminals hung beside Jesus one of them blasphemed Him and challenged Him that if He is Christ He should save Himself and them. But the other sinner answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? Luke 23:40
The dying thief’s no longer had anything to fear from human sources. But the conviction pressed in on one of them that there is a God to fear, a future to cause him to tremble. And now his life history was about to close. In Jesus, mocked and hanging on the cross, he saw the Lamb of God. Hope mingled with anguish as the dying man threw himself on a dying Savior. “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. Quickly the answer came, Christ assured the criminal a place in His kingdom.
Notice how our lamb was silent to one sinner and quick to answer the one who genuinely saw his need for a Savior. This is an example of just how quick Christ answers and makes Himself known when He sees a heart seeking after Him with their whole heart, not doubting that He is the lamb that we so desperately need. It is also an example of how silent He will be to those that do not appreciate with every fiber of their being just what He has done to redeem them. It is impossible to live in sin, feeling no sorrow for the grieve we cause Him and at the same time feel like He’s close by. If we are anything like the unrepentant sinner next to Jesus then we need not wonder why God seems silent and far away. He felt no need to repent, doubted that God was the world’s Redeemer. This sinner did not feel any compassion towards his dying Savior and neither did he care to turn away from his sins.
It is the grace of God that teaches us how to deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, to live soberly, righteously and Godly in this present world. The grace of God teaches us and then He gives us the strength that we need to overcome sin. It is evident that there is nothing good that dwells within us UNTIL our Redeemer dwells within us. It is then that we will no longer feel like He is far away. Could He be any closer then to be right there dwelling within us? He doesn’t just dwell within us so we can feel His presence but rather He dwells within us so he can strengthen us to overcome sin. The One who has overcome this world longs to live within us and help us in being conquerors. Are we comfortable in our sin, or do we have a desire to be freed from it? Are our unrepentant sins causing us to hide from His presence as did Adam and Eve? These are all things that we need to consider.
Titus 2
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;