Feeling Distant from Jesus

Brother, I'm often like you. I'm not new with this, but here's the thing that I find comforting: we're supposed to believe. To trust. To hope in what we cannot see. To hang on to a promise. If we're blessed with a reassuring feeling, of course we should take that as a blessing, but it's hard to chase a feeling.

I believe, that in time, God will give us enough of that "feeling", every now and then - doesn't matter how rare it may be - that we can carry on. In the meantime, we can just put our faith in the simple act of trusting God and hoping in Jesus' name. Faith like that will survive, when it learns to trust, through all kinds of tribulations, lack of feeling, doubts and different times.

I fully understand what you mean though, don't get me wrong. I'm familiar with what you're talking about. But fear not, God rewards those who seek Him, and you are doing just that. If there are doubts, He knows that too, and we should remember the man who cried "Lord, help my unbelief!". He knows our hearts. Said a prayer for you. Hang on in there, it's going to be just fine. God bless you.

1 John 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
You cannot base your salvation on feelings friend. :]

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I struggle with this so often. Some days it feels like God is right by my side (as he always is!) and other days he's a million miles away no matter how much I cry out to him. But the truth is that he is always with you, whether you feel him or not. He hears you, he knows you're crying out to him. And even when we can't see it or feel, he's working in us.

It all comes down to faith. Just trust and believe that he's there and I promise you he will be. Get into the word. Read as much of it as you can and ask him to speak to you through it. Spend some more time in thoughtful, thankful prayer rather than always asking him for more. I'm guilty of always praying just to ask for things but we always need to remember to praise him, too. He will speak to you when you're ready to hear his voice. Just be patient. Strengthen your faith in him and just trust. There's a reason for his silence, there always is.

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."
Psalms 27:14

Realize that your relationship is not based on your commitment or your dedication. It is not your faithfulness. It is His.

YeshuaHamasiachLoves said:

I'm pretty new to seeking the Lord

Been reading my Bible at least a little every day (couple missed days) and praying quite often, many days very often. Have cried out to Jesus, on my knees, crying and stuff, saying I need help & am lost. Still feel distant from Jesus. And I do need help. I've turned away from my old ways in several ways, and feel lost often.

I have mostly come into this faith from believing with my intellect/intuition that Jesus is the Way.. and also from seeing spiritual darkness (because that helped me believe that there IS a spiritual realm). But my faith feels weak, I've been praying so often to EXPERIENCE JESUS in a visceral way. But I know we're not supposed to ask for signs.

A lot of Christians seem to KNOW, THAT THEY KNOW THAT THEY KNOW about the Truth of Jesus' death and resurrection and I want to have the same confidence.

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It takes time to grow i think. Be patient.

Tempura said:

Brother, I'm often like you. I'm not new with this, but here's the thing that I find comforting: we're supposed to believe. To trust. To hope in what we cannot see. To hang on to a promise. If we're blessed with a reassuring feeling, of course we should take that as a blessing, but it's hard to chase a feeling.

I believe, that in time, God will give us enough of that "feeling", every now and then - doesn't matter how rare it may be - that we can carry on. In the meantime, we can just put our faith in the simple act of trusting God and hoping in Jesus' name. Faith like that will survive, when it learns to trust, through all kinds of tribulations, lack of feeling, doubts and different times.

I fully understand what you mean though, don't get me wrong. I'm familiar with what you're talking about. But fear not, God rewards those who seek Him, and you are doing just that. If there are doubts, He knows that too, and we should remember the man who cried "Lord, help my unbelief!". He knows our hearts. Said a prayer for you. Hang on in there, it's going to be just fine. God bless you.

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For years I felt far from God much of the time, and even now there are things that seem to stand between me and Him, but i put those things in Gods hands and move forward in faith. Anyway, i seem to have grown and now i have a peace and joy that tells me that Jesus is with me. When i think back to the years of hopelessness i am grateful to God for not forsaking me. My meditation use to be worry, fear, anxiety, and the resulting stress. But now it is stillness, peace, joy and hope. It makes me heart glad. Praise the Lord.

.. God is doing His work in you! (you are yearning for Him, that is His work in bringing you nearer).

This I recall to my heart—
therefore I have hope:
Because of the mercies of Adonai
we will not be consumed,
for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning!
Great is Your faithfulness.
“Adonai is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in Him.”
Adonai is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul that seeks Him.
It is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of Adonai.
(Lamentations 3:21-26)

Tempura said:

In the meantime, we can just put our faith in the simple act of trusting God and hoping in Jesus' name. Faith like that will survive, when it learns to trust, through all kinds of tribulations, lack of feeling, doubts and different times.

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...Tempura is correct. The way you can feel God in your life is through FAITH!

When you SURRENDER yourself to Him and allow all that happens around you and in your life to be controlled by Him. Then, you will feel an incredible feeling of peace that no one can achieve on their own. Continue reading the bible but make sure you follow what it's telling you and place full confidence on God. When bad things come your way (and they absolutely will), trust in Him. Let him deal with it. Take your problems and give them to Him. Tell Him he is your God and so you no longer want to deal with those problems and since you trust Him no matter what happens...your problems are now His. You will then be free!

God Bless!

YeshuaHamasiachLoves said:

Edifying Thank you ServingZion - this reply strengthens my heart. Also it's nice hearing the Hebrew words in there.. Evokes fond connections to my Jewish roots while remaining steeped in the Truth of Jesus CHRIST the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE

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It is the TLV by the Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society. That is the one that I am reading nowadays. I do not use other translations unless I am finding that the words of the TLV are not quite having the necessary impact for the message I am giving by it I quite like the spirit of these translators, and God is pleased to speak to me through this bible that I carry. In comparison, I do find that most of the English translations tend to mislead a bit, in various ways and to different extents. Here is what Dr. Jeffrey L. Seif says in the preface of the TLV:

The scholars who worked on this translation believed that current English-speaking Bible readers needed a rendering that spoke with a more decidedly Jewish-friendly voice - like the Bible's authors themselves. We believe that the reckonings of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek manuscripts have all-too-often been tendered by churchmen with little-to-no intellectual interest in the Jewish experience, no emotional connection to the Jewish people and no real personal support for the Jewish homeland - Israel. The upshot of the disregard, be it intentional or accidental, is that biblical books that were written to Jews, for Jews and about Jews loose a critical element - the actual Jewish essence.

Of course, my judgement of the reliability of scriptures is intuitive because of my knowledge of righteousness (John 14:17, 1 John 4:4) and that produces an expectation of what the translation should be conveying. So when it doesn't jibe with my intuition in that way I look further.

I am enjoying the learning of the Hebrew language too - do you use the Hebrew language? .. do you understand how to read the pictograph meanings in the Hebrew words?

W2L said:

For years I felt far from God much of the time, and even now there are things that seem to stand between me and Him, but i put those things in Gods hands and move forward in faith. Anyway, i seem to have grown and now i have a peace and joy that tells me that Jesus is with me. When i think back to the years of hopelessness i am grateful to God for not forsaking me. My meditation use to be worry, fear, anxiety, and the resulting stress. But now it is stillness, peace, joy and hope. It makes me heart glad. Praise the Lord.

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I'm so glad for you. Praise God indeed! You have, do now, and will continue to encourage many people. Especially those who struggle. Our struggles aren't in vain, I like to believe this. Whenever I struggle hard, and I'm in despair, and someone comes along who's had the same experiences to comfort me, it's like a massive beam of light straight into my soul, lifting me up. It's amazing. But it feels so good to hear this from you, that you now have peace, joy and hope. God is good.

Tempura said:

I'm so glad for you. Praise God indeed! You have, do now, and will continue to encourage many people. Especially those who struggle. Our struggles aren't in vain, I like to believe this. Whenever I struggle hard, and I'm in despair, and someone comes along who's had the same experiences to comfort me, it's like a massive beam of light straight into my soul, lifting me up. It's amazing. But it feels so good to hear this from you, that you now have peace, joy and hope. God is good.

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Yes God is good. I still have struggles, but i also have the joy of the Lord which is our strength. I went through much tribulation in my spirit over the years but i persevered, thanks be to God. God is good.