For the One Who Feels Distant from God
Have you ever thought, “Why do I feel so far from God?”
You read your Bible. You pray. You show up at church. And yet something feels distant. The warmth you once knew feels cold. The nearness you used to sense feels far away. You still believe the truth, but you don’t feel it.
Many Christian women in various seasons of life have carried this silently. They assume feeling far means they are far. But before we let our emotions narrate reality, we need to ask a deeper question:
What does Scripture actually say about God’s nearness?
What Does It Mean to “Feel Distant” from God?
When women describe feeling distant, they often mean one of several things:
“My emotions feel flat in prayer.”
“Scripture feels dry.”
“I don’t sense His comfort.”
“He feels quiet in my suffering.”
“I feel disconnected, distracted, or numb.”
But Scripture consistently distinguishes between God’s covenantal presence and our felt experience of that presence.
Jesus promises:
“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Paul anchors this reality even deeper:
“For I am sure that neither death nor life… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39)
Our union with Christ does not fluctuate with emotion. It is secured by covenant, sealed by the Spirit, and rooted in Christ’s finished work.
Biblical Evidence: God’s People Have Always Felt This
The experience of divine silence is not foreign to Scripture. It is woven into it.
David cries:
“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1)
The sons of Korah write:
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psalm 42:5)
Job declares:
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him.” (Job 23:8)
These are not unbelievers speaking. These are faithful saints. Scripture gives language for seasons when God feels hidden.
The Psalms show us something profound: feeling distant does not equal being abandoned. Lament itself is proof of relationship. You only cry out to someone you believe is there.
Even Jesus, in His humanity, entered this experience:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
The cross assures us that Christ has stepped into the deepest experience of abandonment so that we never will.
What May Be Happening in the Heart?
While God’s covenant presence remains steady, our experience of closeness can shift. Scripture helps us examine why.
1. Distraction and Competing Loves
Jesus explains:
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
When the heart becomes crowded with lesser treasures (approval, control, comfort, productivity) our affection dulls toward God. Distance can reveal misplaced worship.
2. Unconfessed Sin
David writes:
“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away… For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.” (Psalm 32:3–4)
Sin does not remove God’s covenant love, but it can hinder intimacy. Confession restores clarity of fellowship (1 John 1:9).
3. Suffering and Emotional Exhaustion
Psalm 88 ends without resolution. Sometimes distance is the language of grief. Trauma, chronic stress, depression, and prolonged suffering affect how we perceive God’s presence.
Elijah, after spiritual victory, collapses under exhaustion (1 Kings 19). God does not rebuke him. He feeds him, lets him sleep, and then speaks truth to Him.
4. Spiritual Maturity and Growth
For many women, the beginning of their walk with Christ feels electric.
When the gospel first awakens the heart, everything feels alive. Scripture feels radiant. Prayer feels immediate. Worship moves us easily. There is often a sweetness and intensity in those early days that feels unmistakable.
Peter describes this kind of love:
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” (1 Peter 1:8, ESV)
Over time, however, the emotional intensity may soften. The bright flame becomes a steady glow. Many interpret this shift as distance, but sripture presents another possibility: maturity.
Think of the movement from dating to marriage. Early love often carries heightened emotion and constant awareness. Marriage deepens into something steadier, covenantal, enduring, rooted. The depth of love is not measured by constant intensity but by faithful presence.
Paul writes:
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7, ESV)
Faith grows when it rests on God’s character rather than continual sensation. The woman who continues opening her Bible, praying, and trusting when the emotional high has quieted may not be drifting away from God, but perhaps growing deeper roots.
Sometimes what feels like distance is actually God strengthening the foundations of love.
Is It True That You Are Far?
James writes:
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)
This invitation reveals that God is not resistant to closeness. He welcomes it.
If you belong to Christ, the Spirit dwells within you (Romans 8:9–11). The temple is no longer a building. It is you. The nearness of God is not external geography. It is indwelling reality.
Your feelings are real. They matter. They deserve examination. But they are not the final authority.
The cross defines distance. And the cross declares reconciliation:
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)
Ways to Cultivate Closeness Again
Closeness is not manufactured through emotion. It is cultivated through posture towards the Lord. If you’ve found yourself not drawing near to God like you could be, here are a few tips to help:
1. Return to Honest Prayer
The Psalms teach us that closeness grows through honesty, not performance.
Psalm 62:8 says:
“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”
Pouring out your heart includes your confusion, doubt, frustration, longing. God invites it.
2. Anchor Yourself in Objective Truth
When emotions fluctuate, rehearse what is unchanging:
God is sovereign (Psalm 115:3).
God is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).
God works all things for good (Romans 8:28).
God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6).
Spiritual stability grows when truth governs interpretation.
3. Confess and Realign Worship
Ask yourself:
What has captured my attention?
What feels essential right now?
Where am I seeking life apart from God?
Repentance is relational repair, not an attempt to earn your way back into God’s favor (you already have it in Christ).
4. Reengage Ordinary Means of Grace
God often meets us in the ordinary:
Word (Psalm 19:7–11)
Prayer (Philippians 4:6–7)
Church community (Hebrews 10:24–25)
The Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16)
Closeness frequently grows slowly, like roots deepening underground.
5. Wait with Expectation
Isaiah writes:
“They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31)
Waiting is not passive. It is active trust.
The woman who continues opening her Bible when it feels dry is not distant. She is faithful. The woman who prays through tears without emotional relief is not abandoned. She is persevering.
God often does His deepest work in hidden seasons like this.
A Final Word to the Woman Who Feels Far
The Christian life is not built on spiritual intensity. It is built on union with Christ.
You are not held by the strength of your feelings. You are held by the strength of His covenant.
If you are longing for Him, that longing itself is evidence of His Spirit at work in you. The heart that desires closeness has already been awakened by grace.
“Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.” (Psalm 105:4)
You are fully known, fully seen, and fully loved by the God of the universe always and forever.
