When God Feels Far AwayНамуна

Day One: Introduction

As Christians, we often talk about a relationship with God through Jesus. And relationships have similarities, whether they’re with other humans or with God. But here’s the rub: in one sense, God is distant by His very nature. 

Theologians have made a distinction between what they call the transcendence of God and the immanence of God. Simply put, transcendence is the distance of God and immanence is the closeness of God. God, because He is wholly other than us, is felt and experienced as far away. He’s not of the same realm as us, as He exists in the spiritual world. We exist in the physical world, though we too have a spiritual part of us. As the psalmist says, “The Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4). The word transcend means to be above and outside, and that is a significant part of who God is.

Every Christian feels far away from God at times. We long for closeness but feel the distance—we all want more. We want to close the gap and guide our sin-blocked souls through God’s transcendence to experience His immanence.

These words and our time together are intended to help you navigate divine distance.

Nobody likes to admit that God feels distant. 

If you’re feeling distant from God, please hear me say this: you’re not alone. Your experience—or lack thereof—is universal. Either you can accept that seasons of divine distance are par for the course, or you can make a decision, like I have done in distant seasons of my life, to pursue closeness with God through honesty and exploration. You must make a choice.

The book of Esther in the Old Testament deals head-on with this issue of divine distance. Written at a time when God’s people not only felt far from God but were far from him, Esther contains instruction in how we are to journey through seasons when God seems removed. We’ll look at some proven and time-tested ways that God’s people have navigated His apparent silence through the ages.

These different ways to experience closeness with God have worked for me, and they’ll work for you too. Are you ready to join me on this journey?

Have you ever felt distant from God? What were (or are) the circumstances that caused you to feel that God was far away? What are some of the questions you find yourself asking about God (or even to God) when you don’t have a sense of His nearness?