Why do I sometimes feel that God is absent?

Psalm 10:1O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?

Psalm 13:1-2O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Matthew 28:20“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The greater our troubles, the farther away God sometimes seems. In our darkest hour, we may feel as though God has left us. In times like these, when God seems absent, we shouldn’t trust our darkened feelings; instead, we can trust God’s clear promise that he will never leave us. Even faithful and godly King David, writer of Psalm 13, sometimes felt that God was absent. Do not assume that you are spiritually deficient because you feel God is far away; trust God’s promise to be with you.

Psalm 139:7, 9-10I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! . . . If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

Isaiah 49:15Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

God may seem far away because we have moved away from him, not because he has moved away from us. Sometimes our own persistent, willful sin is what causes us to feel cut off from God and miss the joy of fellowship with him. If we want to feel God’s presence, we will need to acknowledge our sin to him. Then through prayer and time with God, we will begin to sense his presence again and see evidence of his work in our lives.

Isaiah 59:1-2Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.

Sin is a wall that separates us from God. If we persist in that sin, we may indeed feel that God is absent. If we tear down the wall of sin by humble confession, we will find God on the other side.

James 4:7-8, 10So humble yourselves before God . . . Come close to God, and God will come close to you. . . . Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

To have a restored fellowship with God, we need to have a humble attitude, confess our sins, and draw near to him. Humility puts us in sync with Jesus.