1. When God Seems
Distant

2. I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding
his face from the house of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.
Isaiah 8:17

3. God is real, no matter how we feel.
It is easy to worship God when things are
going well. But what about times when God
seems to be far away and things are hard?

4. The deepest level of worship is
praising God in spite of pain,
thanking God during a trial, trusting
him when tempted, surrendering
while suffering, and loving him when
he seems distant.
Rick Warren (P.107)

5. Friendships are tested by times of
separation and distance.
Any relationship involves times of
closeness and times of distance, and
in a relationship with God, no
matter how intimate, the pendulum
will swing from one side to the
other.
Philip Yancey

6. To mature our friendship, God will test
it with periods of seeming separation –
times when it feels as if He has
abandoned or forgotten us.
St John of the cross called these times,
“the long dark night of the soul”
AW Tozer called them, “the ministry
of the night”

7. To mature our friendship, God will test
it with periods of seeming separation –
times when it feels as if He has
abandoned or forgotten us.
St John of the cross called these times,
“the long dark night of the soul”
AW Tozer called them, “the ministry
of the night”

8. Besides Jesus, David probably had the
closest friendship with God than
anyone. Yet, David asked,
“Lord, why are you standing aloof
and far away? Why do you hide
when I need you the most.”
Ps 10:1
See also Ps 22:1, 43:2

9. Truly you are a God who hides
himself, O God and Savior of Israel.
Isaiah 45:15

10. Floyd McClung describes it:
“You wake up one morning and all your
spiritual feelings are gone. You pray,
but nothing happens. You rebuke the
devil, but it doesn’t change anything.
You go through spiritual exercises...you
have your friends pray for you...you
confess every sin you can imagine,
then you go around asking forgiveness
of every person you know...

11. You fast...still nothing. You begin to
wonder how long this spiritual gloom
might last. Days? Weeks? Months? Will
it ever end?...it feels as if your prayers
simply bounce off the ceiling. In utter
desperation you cry out, ‘What is the
matter with me?’”

13. So what is the matter with you?

14. So what is the matter with you?
Absolutely nothing!

15. So what is the matter with you?
Absolutely nothing!
This is a normal part of testing your
friendship with God.

16. So what is the matter with you?
Absolutely nothing!
This is a normal part of testing your
friendship with God.
Every Christian goes through it at least
once. It is painful and disconcerting,
but vital for your faith.

17. "But if I go to the east, he is not
there; if I go to the west, I do not
find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do
not see him; when he turns to the
south, I catch no glimpse of him.
But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come
forth as gold.”
Job 23:8-10

18. Remember at this time God could be
disciplining you for some sin.
But it could also have nothing to do
with sin - it could simply be a testing
of your faith.
God, at times, removes our feelings so
that we don’t depend on them - it is
not about the experience, it is about
God - seeking a feeling of being close
to god is not worship.

19. As a baby Christian
God gives you lots of
confirming emotions -
as you grow he weans
you off of these.
God is always present
- even when you don’t
feel him or are
unaware of him.

20. Faith - not feelings - is what pleases
God.
On a single day Job lost everything -
then for 37 chapters God said nothing -
yet Job managed to keep focussed on
God...

21. At this, Job got up and tore his robe
and shaved his head. Then he fell to
the ground in worship and said:
"Naked I came from my mother's
womb, and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has
taken away; may the name of the
LORD be praised."
Job 1:20-21

22. How do you praise
God when you don’t
understand what is
happening in your
life - when God
seems silent?

23. Tell God exactly how
you feel
Pour out your heart to him - unload
every emotion you are feeling:
"Therefore I will not keep silent; I
will speak out in the anguish of my
spirit, I will complain in the
bitterness of my soul.”
Job 7:11

24. I believed; therefore I
said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
Ps 116:10
1. David believed God.
2. David believed God would
listen to his prayer.
3. David believed God would
let him say how he felt - and
still love him.

25. focus on who God is –
His unchanging nature
Remember what you
know to be eternally
true about God.
What might you
encourage yourself
with in this time -
ideas, Bible verses etc.

26. For Job this included:
10:12 - good and loving
42:2, 37:5 - all powerful
23:10 - notices every
detail of life
34:13 - in control
23:14 - has a plan for
my life
19:25 - will save me

27. Trust God to keep His
promises
Be patient in waiting for God to keep
his promises - and rely on those
promises not your emotions.
Circumstances do not change the
character of God - or his word.

28. Trust God to keep His
promises
Be patient in waiting for God to keep
his promises - and rely on those
promises not your emotions.
Circumstances do not change the
character of God - or his word.

29. Remember what God has
already done for you
Remember what God has done for you
in Jesus.
Sometimes we are too familiar with
the story to appreciate the magnitude
of it all - abused and ridiculed,
tortured, separation from God, death
on a cross

30. God made him who had no sin to be
sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.
2 Cor 5:21

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

32. Verse to Remember:
Keep your lives free from the love of
money and be content with what you
have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5

33. Question to consider:
How can I stay focused on God’s
presence, especially when He feels
distant?