When God Feels Far Away (5 simple steps to stay close)

On a scale of one to ten, how close do you feel to God right now? Although God is always with us, guiding our steps and never leaving us, it doesn’t always feel that way. Sometimes, God feels silent, absent, or far away. In these situations, we usually do one of two things: we either think we've done something wrong and worry, or we become frustrated with God for not showing up as we expected. What if there was a third, better option? What if we chose to trust God, even when we couldn’t feel Him? In today’s video, I’ll share five things I do to stay peaceful and confident in my faith, even when God feels far away. Stay tuned!

I won’t lie—it’s always a little scary when I feel distant from God or feel like He’s distant from me. Like you, I want to always feel that warm, secure closeness with God. But because our feelings are fickle, I’ve learned that even though God is always with me, that doesn’t mean I’ll always feel it. So, in my spiritual journey, it has been important for me to have practical steps I can take when I feel distant from Him so I don’t lose my faith.

In this video, I want to share with you: 

• The five steps I take when I feel distant from God. 
• The habits I practice to ensure I consistently stay close to God.
• The spiritual disciplines that help me get back on track when I’ve found myself distant from God.

But first, I want you to understand that regardless of how you feel, God is still God. He’s still in control and always loves and cares for His children.

Get Still and Quiet:

I’m a wife and a mother of two, and we live a pretty simple, but busy life. My kids are both in school, and both active in sports; I run a nonprofit—Beloved Women—and a business, so there’s always something going on. It’s easy to get distracted by busyness—not in a bad way, but just because life is full. So, whenever I start to sense that God feels distant or that I’ve drifted away, I intentionally get still and quiet before Him.

Now, like I said, my life is busy, and I’m sure yours is too! You have school, work, obligations, responsibilities to your family, projects at work, the commute, groceries and so many things! It’s not bad to be busy, but it does mean we have to be intentional about getting still and quiet so we can hear from God. When I feel like God isn’t near, I’ll take a moment right then and there to get still. I’ll close my eyes, take a deep breath, and say a little prayer.

I may not always have time to take an entire week off to seek the Lord, but even a quiet moment or an intentional evening or morning with God can help my soul settle and reconnect with Him.

Review My Habits:

Another important step I take when I feel distant from God is to review my habits. Since I’m so busy, I’ve built daily and weekly habits into my schedule to make sure I’m actively and consistently taking moments of stillness and quiet before the Lord. If those habits get interrupted for any reason, after a while, I’ll start to feel it.

So I’ll ask myself, "Am I keeping up with these habits?" If not, that’s usually why I’m feeling disconnected from God, and I just need to get back on track. Here are a few habits I rely on to stay connected with God:

• Prayer: First, I ask myself, "Am I praying?" Prayer is a daily habit for me—I pray every morning and evening. This is essential to staying connected with God. Your prayers don’t have to be long, but it’s important that they are consistent. I once heard Tony Evans say, “A little prayer is better than no prayer.”
• Bible Reading: The next habit that helps me to stay connected is Bible reading. Now please note, this isn’t always an in-depth Bible study, but every morning, I open my Bible app and read a scripture and a Bible plan or devotion that I’m going through with a friend. We keep each other accountable, and I try to do this daily.
• Journaling: My next connection habit is journaling. Each morning, I take a few minutes to journal and process what’s going on in my heart. It’s my way of casting my cares on God and reminding myself that He hears me, cares for me, and is here. I do this about five days a week, and it’s very therapeutic and helps me to regain my focus back on God, no matter what situation I’m facing.
• Moving / Walking: My final connection habit is movement. Almost every day, I take a 2-mile walk—no podcast, no music, just me, God, and nature. It’s a time I feel so close to Him and when I stop doing it, I need it both physically and spiritually. 

Whenever I feel distant from God, I can usually trace it back to neglecting two or more of these habits. These practices help me stay connected with God, and when I drop the ball on them, I try to get them back into my routine as quickly as I can—and it always helps.

Take Inventory of Your Thoughts:

Another key step I take when I feel distant from God is to take inventory of my thoughts. If I’m believing a lie about God or His character, that’s going to make me pull away from Him. So, I take time to examine what I’m thinking. Are there any disruptive thoughts that need to be cast out and made obedient to Christ, as Scripture tells us?

For example, if I’ve picked up the belief that God doesn’t care about me or that a situation is too big for Him, that will distance me from Him, even if I don’t realize it. But that’s not true—God cares deeply about what we care about. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins. So, it’s crucial to align our thoughts with the truth about God or we will feel distant from Him.

Reduce Distractions:

As I mentioned earlier, I’m very busy and there’s nothing wrong with being busy, especially if you’re intentional about incorporating moments of stillness to hear from God. But there’s a difference between being busy and being distracted.

When you’re busy, you’re doing what God has called you to do, but it’s just a lot on your plate compared to other seasons. When you’re distracted, your focus is on things that aren’t even in line with what God has called you to do, which can lead you off course and further away from Him.

Distractions are one of the main reasons we feel distant from God. They pull our minds away from Him and His work. Whenever I feel distant, I check my focus: is it on God or have I drifted? Distractions creep in little by little, so we have to be intentional about eliminating them.

Fasting:

Finally, when I’ve tried everything and I still feel distant from God, I’ll fast. I deny my flesh and its desires so my spirit can be fed, and this has always helped me reconnect with God. He has always honored my fast as I seek to grow closer to Him.

My encouragement to you is this: although you may feel distant from God at times, it is His ultimate desire to be close to you. That’s why He sent Jesus to die on the cross. If you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior, the Holy Spirit is within you, and God is with you always. If you haven’t, I encourage you to click the invitation link in the description of this video to accept Christ and enjoy God’s presence forever.

Even when it doesn’t feel like it, God is always with you. So I invite you to watch this video where I share how to enter the secret place to experience the presence of God. 

For more encouragement, download my free Bible Study, “Worry-Free,” to learn the three lies feeding your worry and the truth that sets you free at belovedwomen.org. Thanks for watching, and until next time, be beautiful, be blessed, and be beloved.