Episode #136 When God Feels Far Away – God’s Love for You is Steadfast

­­­Hey friend, it's Jen. And I come with good news today. Even when God feels far, he is not far away. We're in a series looking at God's steadfast love. And sometimes it can be hard to feel like God is close by. And so if you feel like God is far, if it feels hard to notice him or see him or hear him right now, first, thanks for showing up here.

God delights in your desire to know him. And two, you can trust that God is not far and his love hasn't left you. Today we're taking a look at Psalm 107, which is titled, let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

But before we get into Psalm 107, I'm actually doing something I have never done here on the podcast before I am jumping in post recording. As I was going through and finalizing this episode, I realized that I didn't talk about something as clearly as I intended to. And so I'm adding in a third piece of encouragement. What we're talking about today is not ignoring how you feel or faking feeling like God is close when you don't feel Him there.

the psalm we're looking at is titled Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So, not because they have to just say it, even if they don't recognize it in their own lives. It's not “pretend like you feel God is close because you know you're supposed to say that he is.”

What this is talking about is to refer back to where we've seen God before and remember that even in those circumstances, He was there with us, His love was steadfast. The exhortation that we have is to acknowledge how we feel and the awareness that we have of God here in our circumstances today.

And also to come to Him honest. If we can't sense him. If we miss having a closeness that we know he's inviting us into, or even a closeness that we've had in past seasons. If you don't feel like God is close, you can still rely on the truth of what the Bible says and believe that he is true—that God is being honest with us when he tells us that he is near to us. That his love for us is steadfast. And then we can engage with God, asking Him to change our awareness or our experience of Him. Helping us to know that He is true, even in the times that we don't feel it.

And so if it feels to you like God is far away today, keep pressing into Him and ask Him to show you how that is not the case at all. And so with that, we're going to jump into Psalm 107 titled, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. And this is one of those Psalms that has a repetitive phrase in it. The consistent refrain comes up and it says,

“let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love for his wondrous works to the children of man.”

But the lines that are between these verses aren't all rainbows and butterflies. It's not that everything has gone well with them, and God has always been obviously close to them and hardship has been removed from their circumstances. It's that no matter what path they were on, no matter what choices they had made, God remained steadfast in his loving care for them. God remained their rescuer if they would turn to him.

It talks about how they were gathered from the east and west and the north and the south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could dwell, they were hungry, and they were thirsty and they cried to the Lord and he delivered them. It talks about how they were prisoners in their affliction and they cried to the Lord in their distress, and he heard them and delivered them. It talks about their circumstances and how some of them experienced hardship. In environments that are not plentiful and how God still provides for them and how he raises the needy out of their affliction.

And then it ends in Psalm 107:43,

“Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.” (Psalm 107:43)

Sometimes in my own life, I will go through seasons of feeling like God is exceptionally, extraordinarily close, and through seasons where he seems quieter.

I'll go through times where I don't know what's coming next, or where circumstances are just harder.

Sometimes in difficult circumstances, it's harder to recognize God as there with me. And in those times, I can reflect on this verse and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

That even if I don't see it or feel it, I know his steadfast love is there.

Even if I'm waiting for breakthrough in my circumstances, I know that God is not far away because he tells me that he is close. He tells me that his love is steadfast for me.

Sometimes growing in the awareness we need of God being close begins by choosing to believe that he is close, even if we can't perceive it. And then asking God to show us how he is there.

And so that's our question for him today. If you feel like God is far away in the season, in this moment, in a specific circumstance that you're navigating, ask God to make you wise. Ask him to help you consider and notice his steadfast love.

Ask God to make his steadfast love apparent to you. And so here's our question to go and ask him:

God, will you help me notice your steadfast love, and how you're here with me?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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