July 2018

God, You
Seem So
Far Away!
BY JOHN LYSAUGHT
There are moments in
our lives when we feel
left out, alone and defeated.
It is in these moments
that we feel far from God,
or He feels far from us. Either
way, we feel like we are in a desolate
place, a deserted island in
the midst of the world. When we
feel this way, abandonment is
the only thing that makes sense
and we just want to curl up into a
ball and disappear.
When we struggle to feel the
presence of God in our lives,
sometimes it feels like the harder
we try, the worse it gets. Trials
and tribulations seemingly never
stop and we cannot even have
a moment to stick our heads
out of the water for a breath of
fresh air. The world feels like it is
choking us and beating us down
each time we try to get up. We
ask ourselves where God is and
we in turn ask God why.
We have all been down this road
at some point. Some more than
others, but nonetheless, we
know what it is like. Maybe you
are facing this right now, feeling
far away from God. Know that
God is near you, even in the silence
of the moment, He is with
you. Just because you cannot
“feel Him” doesn’t mean He is
absent.
There is a need in the times of
feeling far from God to be patient.
Romans 12:12 (ESV)
says to “rejoice in hope, be patient
in tribulation, be constant in
prayer.” Our feeling of being far
from God begs the question of if
we do what Romans 12:12 says
to do. It seems like when we feel
far from Him we give all three of
those up. Do we just get angry
and forget about God’s help and
presence? Or do we continue to
give Him praise for the blessings
we have and of His greatness?
Do we lose patience with Him?
Yes, we do. We live in a society
where we get what we want in a
short amount of time. Long gone
are the days of eager waiting
or patience with waiting. God
works on His timeline, not ours.
Just because we want something
from Him now does not
mean we will get what we want.
Besides that, what we want may
not be what we need.
Patience used to be an issue for
me. I wanted an answer or help
from God the moment I wanted
it. If I did not get resolution, I lost
hope in God. I was disappointed.
Yet, as time went on from my perceived
immediate need, I found
my prayers were still answered,
not on my timeline but His. Just
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