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Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Distant From God

Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Distant From God

Last updated on: February 13, 2016 at 12:49 pm by Jack Wellman

Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Distant From God 2016-02-13T12:49:59-06:00 Jack Wellman

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Here are seven Bible verses for those who feel that God is distant to them.

Psalm 13:1-2 “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me. How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?”

David felt like God was distant to him and that He had forgotten him and like God was hiding His face from him but was this true? No, because later in this same psalm, David wrote that “I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation” (Psalm 13:5) and because of that, he wrote “I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me” (Psalm 13:6). David’s point was that even though God felt distant from him, the reality is God is closer to us when we’re crushed than when things are going well.

Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

It might feel like God is distant when you are broken hearted and crushed in your spirit but that is just when God is nearest. Feelings are shallow and unreliable but God’s Word is true, regardless of what a person feels. God’s Word is objectively true; human feelings are subjective and subject to error. Why not believe what God Himself says, that He is near the broken hearted and those who are crushed in spirit because “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

Genesis 41:1 “After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile.”

Why does it say “After two whole years?” This was the time period where Joseph had been in prison and it had been two years since Joseph interpreted the dream of the baker and the cup bearer. Joseph was imprisoned for something he never did and then he was left in prison, all forgotten about, except by God and when God gave Pharaoh a dream, the cupbearer said to Pharaoh “A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged” (Gen 41:12-13) so God remembered Joseph and neither will He forget you.

Acts 24:27 “When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.”

The Apostle Paul sat in prison for two years, as this verse says, and you have to wonder why? People are perishing apart from Christ and they need to hear the gospel, yet Paul was still stuck in prison for something that was not against the law. Even so, Paul never hinted that God had forsaken him or felt distant from Him. Paul knew that God was not finished with him yet and so, even though he was in prison, God was near him.

Psalm 145:18 “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”

The psalmist knew from experience that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1) so He must be nearer than we think, writing “Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land” (Psalm 85:9). If God is near us, and in fact, He is in us, God is never distant from us the realist sense. Trust that and not what you feel.

Deuteronomy 4:7 “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?”

Sadly, this used to be true of America and many other nations, but today, we should ask, “What great nation is there that is God so near? Even though God is going to judge every nation with complete fairness and justice, Christians living in these ungodly nations have God near them, even if He is far from the nation as a whole. Right now, China is experiencing the greatest explosion of Christianity in the world (60 million in 2010) and is on course to have the greatest number of Christians on earth in just a few, short years. This is clear evidence that God is near every believer, even in the midst of severe persecution to the point of death at the hands of the atheistic, communist regime in China.

Acts 17:26-27 “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.”

God has manifested Himself in His creation and only a fool would say “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1). For those who humble themselves before Him, He will make Himself know and as such, He is not far from any one of us. To put it another way, “he did not leave himself without witness” (Acts 14:17) so know this; “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17), meaning He is always near enough to hear the righteous cry out and then He delivers them from all of their troubles; it’s only a matter of time before He does.

Conclusion

I hope you will look to these Scriptures when you feel that God is distant. If God feels distant, my question would be; “Who went where? Did God go anywhere or was it you?” Don’t depend on feelings; depend on what God’s Word says and His Word includes the promise that He is always near the broken hearted and the crushed in spirit and gives His grace, but only to the humble (James 4:6).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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