Advice For The Christian Girl

Q & A How Do I Know God Is Near When He Feels Far?

How Do I Know God Is Near When He Feels Far?
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To believe God is near is to stand in faith. We don't see God with our physical eyes and ears, so believing and trusting His near takes faith. We can't see angels, demons and even satan but we believe they all exist in faith in the word of God.

What we believe because of the word. We know God's word, we heard it and believed it. It's the reason why we are saved. We believe that because Jesus died for our sins and in Him, we have salvation.

All in faith.

We can feel like God is far because we physically can't see Him so we look for signs. We look at our situations, trials, aches and problems and conclude God must have abandoned us.

As Christians, that's not where we place our faith. We don't have faith based on human reasoning or feelings but in the word. When our thoughts tell us God is far and we feel abandoned by God it's not true. Why? Because we have faith in the word. The thing that gets uncomfortable in life is when our faith becomes real to us. It's easy to believe until you are challenged where you can't rely on your feelings, and physical eyes anymore but you rely on faith.

Moments when we doubt God is far, it's because we allowed our eyes and judgement to say He isn't. Our faith ultimately is being weakened and we begin to doubt.

Joseph could have thought God abandoned him because he didn't see God. Before he went to jail, he saw pain, he experienced betrayal, hurt and potential isolation yet the Bible tells us that God was WITH Joseph.

We can wonder " If all this bad stuff is going on or about to happen it means God isn't with us right? He has forgotten, abandoned and left us right?"

Not true. This is where your faith comes in. It's easy to believe God is near when you are happy. When we travel and see a sunset we believe God is with us. We see His creation and rejoice. When a baby is born. We have joy, we know only God could have created something beautiful. We see God in everything except trials. Why? Because we don't realise that when God says He won't ever leave us or forsake us it wasn't referring to the good moments that people see. The beauty of Joseph's story is that God was with him during his success Pharaoh could easily see and recognise that God was with Joseph. God wasn't with Joseph when he went from success to success but through the not-so-amazing moments of his life.

Genesis 39:2-7
NKJV
2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. 5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”

The Beginning verses sound great until verse 7 when Joseph becomes a target of the enemy once again. Joseph got targeted, falsely accused and thrown into jail yet God being with Joseph remains the same. God didn't leave him.

Genesis 39:21-23
NKJV
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

God even in a messy situation still was with Joseph. His presence was still evident to the Keeper and God still gave him success. I love how they mimic each other, the Keeper paid no attention to anything Joseph did just like Pharaoh because they trusted Joseph and knew God was with him. They both left everything in his hands and recognized the hand upon Joseph.

Now imagine if Joseph complained and said "God has abandoned me. He has left me. I'm on my way to Jail, he must hate me. First, my brothers sold me into slavery then I got a glimmer of hope and success just to rot in Jail!"

He could have felt that way but didn't lose his faith and trust in God. That kind of attitude is something we shouldn't have as Christians.  A bad attitude filled with distrust negativity and a lack of faith in God.

If Daniel looked at the den and thought God has left him, he wouldn't see how the King would have seen the glory of God. His trust and faith in God in a situation that would appear that God is far was what pleased God and now brought more people to him.

Daniel 6:25-27
NKJV

25 Then King Darius wrote:

To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell on all the earth:

Peace be multiplied to you.

26 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.

For He is the living God,
And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed,
And His dominion shall endure to the end.
27 He delivers and rescues,
And He works signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

Hebrews 11:6-7
ESV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe, that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him

Faith is what pleases God. When we believe in who He is, who He says He is, and what He says He will do even when in human understanding the situation appears contrary.

We have faith that says that even if the situation looks horrible and it could lead to potential death (lion's den) I'll rather believe in who God says He is than give in to fear and doubt.

We have this kind of faith because we intentionally spend time knowing the word of God. When you read the word and allow it to transform you, your way of thinking, your actions and how your perspective, you'll grow in faith.

Romans 10:17
ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.

Doubting if God is with us, for us, helping us, guiding us and has a purpose for us is doubting who He says He is and when we begin to doubt who He says He is (the word) we begin to allow the enemy to weaken our faith.

Don't let the enemy weaken your faith. Stop seeing things the way they look with your physical eyes and start seeing them with the eyes of faith. The eyes of one who trusts and believes more in the power of their God than any present circumstance.