Closing The Distance Between You And God - Deeply Loved: A Devotional to Feel Seen and Known By God

“‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” (Matthew 1:23, NIV)

I (Bill) listened to a pastor named Kit share that he felt distant from God. This was at a Soul Shepherding retreat Kristi and I were leading that included many Christ-followers seeking a deeper relationship with God and more loving relationships with others.

Maybe you long to connect more wholeheartedly with God but need help. It can feel disappointing or frustrating when deeper intimacy with the Lord feels out of reach.

Kit was surprised to discover that this distance from God was connected to his childhood. As a boy, he didn’t have safe relationships where he could be honest about his feelings.

He hadn’t experienced being seen, known, and deeply loved. He lamented, “I believed that emotions were unreliable and should not lead me in any way.”

He didn’t realize that knowing his emotions was critical to understanding himself, relating to God, and loving other people well.

Kit had learned to shove down hurt, anxiety, fear, shame, and anger to cope with stress. But denying “negative” emotions also keeps us from enjoying positive emotions. It won’t be long before you feel disconnected from God and others.

The more you stuff your emotions, the more distressed and disconnected you become, and the further you distance yourself from experiencing Jesus’ tender love. Yet he longs for you to bring your whole self into his embrace (Matthew 11:28; 19:14; 22:37).

So how do you close the distance between you and God? You can learn to feel with Jesus.

This doesn’t mean letting your emotions control you or lead you into sin — it means allowing the Good Shepherd to see you and know you. It’s releasing your emotions to him and receiving his empathy.

Empathy is seeking to understand someone’s emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Jesus’ empathy for you helps you know you are deeply loved by God. It holds you in his presence and connects you to his heartfelt care.

But you might be wondering the same thing that Kit asked us on the retreat: does the Bible talk about empathy?

Empathy is indeed modeled and taught throughout Scripture. In fact, we draw on over 100 empathy Scriptures in our book Deeply Loved. The Bible often says or shows us that the Lord hears our prayers, sees our tears, and is close to the brokenhearted (e.g., 2 Kings 20:5; Psalm 34:18, 56:8, and 103:13).

The most powerful display of empathy is the incarnation of Jesus as Immanuel or “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

In other words, Jesus became human so he feels with you and fully understands you. His passion to go to the cross, die for your sins, and reconcile you to God shows how incredibly far his empathy for you goes!

Reflect: How do you feel about your emotions? How is it for you to be vulnerable during prayer? How might this be affecting your relationship with God?