Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Day 14 - When God Seems Distant

CELEBRATING OUR 2 WEEK MILESTONE!


We have learned what makes God smile. How to have a personal friendship with God. This journey has really shown us that God is not only the Creator of the universe- He desires a close, intimate relationship with us too.

Life's demands and lack of time can make this journey very hard to find alone time to do this study. If you are behind in your studies, start on DAY 14 and recommit to doing your best on staying the course. When you find time, try to go back and read the past "Days" you've skipped. Don't give up- there are many blessings waiting for you!

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DAY 14

Point to Ponder: God is real, no matter how I feel.

Verse to Remember: " For God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.' " Heb. 13:5(TEV)

Question to Consider: How can I stay focused on God's presence, especially when he feels distant?

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3 comments:

  1. Wow, this one really hit me between the eyes! I can't count how many times I have said, "I just don't feel God's closeness today." and I've even told close friends, "It feels like God hasn't been present in my life for the past couple of years." Feeling like He has pushed himself away from me.

    This part rings in my ears, "He (God) has promised repeatedly, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' But God has not promised "you will always feel my presence.'" It's my "sin", my selfishness, that disconnects my relationship with God.

    When I feel distant from God, it's not Him who is pulling away- it's me! I need to search all areas of my life to find out what is obstructing my closeness with Him- then I need to get rid of it immediately.

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  2. I can't tell you how many times I've felt distant from God. I'll have a great emotional connection one night and wake up with it gone the next morning. Or I'll be praying and "feeling" nothing. I'm not sure what puropse God has for me but I know that my whole life has had major downs- not as many ups- and I have failed over and over and over. I'm finally starting to be able to have faith and trust and turn these failures over to God- although it can be really hard. I run into thoughts incessantly popping into my head about those who have wronged me and my family and bad things I have done in my past. I immediately turn them over and pray instead of rehashing them over and over in my head like I would have formally done. Maybe that's part of my hardship- learning to finally get that part of my life in order. I can say that through all of my family, financial, job and relationship problems I have learned so much and all through the years there have been more and more nudges leading me back to God and what I should be doing with my life. Through all of it, there have been times that God is distant. I've had to learn to just talk to God and remind myself that he's there and he's in charge and everything has its purpose. Dtaying focused on God's presence when he feels distant is a discipline for me. I have to constantly remind myself that he's there and surround myself with people who love me and lift me up when I need it.

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  3. I'm a little late to the party, but I'm here :) Sorry we've been slacking... we are reading the daily chapters, just having a busy week and got behind on posting. I'm going to commit to posting a response to the daily question for the remaining days.

    I really liked the quote by V. Raymond Edman, "Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light." The best way for me to focus on God's presence when He seems distant is to remember what He's done in the past. I think of the way he's gotten me through difficult times, personal struggles, past failures... and He still loves me. It's taken some time for me to learn that what we feel isn't always real. Even though I may feel like God is a million miles away, I know He is with me every day.

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