Why do I feel far from God?

Every believer has times of feeling far from God, so you are not alone. Sometimes we allow distractions to take up our time. Sometimes we give in to temptations more often than we used to. Sometimes reading the Bible feels boring. Sometimes prayer feels meaningless and repetitive. If this is frustrating to you, then please be encouraged that this conviction means that the Holy Spirit is still working within you and that you haven't given up yet—and this is a good thing!

The life of a Christian is a journey of ups and downs and twists and turns. Sometimes we'll feel super close to God, and other times, we feel totally alone. These are all phases that every Christian will circle into from time to time. Every step we take, whether it is forward or backward, is an opportunity to grow in our faith.

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." —Romans 5:3-5

Can I ever be a perfect Christian?

I have good news for you: there is no such thing as a perfect Christian. We aren't expected to be perfect. Christians do sin and will continue to sin (1 John 1:8). However, the Christian life should not be identified by a life of willful sin. Willful sin is knowing you're going to sin, doing it anyway, then feeling no remorse afterward.

As believers, we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have the Holy Spirit inside of us to help us produce good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). A Christian life should be a changed life—or at least one where we desire change and aim for becoming more like Jesus.

No one will be able to do this Christ-following thing without making mistakes. But we can take heart that we will be forgiven no matter how many times we mess up. At the same time, our goal should always be to become more holy and to grow closer to Christ. It's a messy conundrum, but God is big enough to handle our messiness.

How do I stay close to God?

Over time, it is possible to develop a mindset where you realize that God is always there for you—even when you feel lonely or abandoned. You can come to depend on Him as a given in your life. He is a constant presence to whom you can turn at any time, 24/7. One of the ways to keep God at the forefront of your mind is to keep in touch with Him—just like you would with any friend you want to remain close to.

Talk to Him, read His words in the Bible, look for how He's working in your life and take note of those times as reminders to your future self. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ." 1 Peter 2:2-3 says we must, “like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it [we] may grow up in [our] salvation, now that [we] have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Hopefully you know in your heart that God is good. We hope you've experienced that, and that, in your deepest moments of darkness, you recognize the truth of things you cannot see. The truth of that knowledge is so so important.

"Faith is being sure we will get what we hope for. It is being sure of what we cannot see." —Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

One Day at a Time

We can't be on a spiritual high all the time; life just doesn't work that way. We might get excited about something for a while, then the excitement fades. But the Truth about God still remains. Part of the work of the journey is remembering and reminding ourselves of the wonders of God, His love for us, and the benefits of living our lives for Him.

"When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy." —Psalm 63:6-7

You CAN do this. Getting closer to God is not as hard as you think, but remember that it's a daily process, so take it one moment at a time and give yourself grace and forgiveness on the hard days. Our goal should be to follow the example of Jesus, working toward righteousness and holiness, but it's a lifelong journey—and that is perfectly OK.