Day 7 | God Is Not Distant

Devotion Written By: Neophytemuziq

Have you ever felt like God is not hearing your prayers?

Concerned about your hopes and dreams?

That your life doesn’t matter to Him or that you just don’t fit into His plans?

Well, you’re not alone in your feelings.

There have been plenty of times in my walk with God where I have felt that God is nowhere to be found. In times like that, the questions are endless.

Have I done something to anger Him?

Did I not treat someone right?

Did I say the wrong thing to someone?

All these questions are valid and are cause for concern, especially if you are a believer.

Luckily for us, God’s presence is never far away.

It just feels like it is, and the enemy will use those very feelings to try and drive a wedge between you and God.

Job is an amazing example of this.

He was blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1).

He had great wealth and a huge family. Then, out of nowhere, he loses it all!

Things got so bad for Job that he even ripped his robe apart and shaved his head (Job 1:20).

Now he suffered many more catastrophes in the Book of Job, but I want you to notice something here. In verse 21, after getting news that a desert wind collapsed a home on his sons and daughters and killed them, he said this:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will
depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

He said WHAT?!?!?! May the name of the Lord be praised???

Really???? Yes!!!!! See, though Job suffered great loss, even he, in the midst of his calamities, understood that God was still with him and He was in complete control.

He became the epitome of Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor
any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So the next time you feel like God is in the distance, say this short prayer:

Father, though I don’t feel your presence
I know that you are always present
Help me to not look at my circumstances
And focus on your love, your mercy and your grace
Help me to see you in every situation
And have this knowledge to bring me peace
In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Reflection Questions:

1. When you have gone through difficult seasons in the past, how did you respond to God? Moving forward, what would you do differently?
2. Looking back, can you identify a moment when God was still working in your life even though, at the time, it felt like He was distant?

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