Have you ever felt so far away from God? Like, you used to hear Him, feel Him, and stay in His presence at all times, but now you don't?
If that sounds like you, I have something to share with you: God loves you.
"I'm just here..."
Many times in our lives we go through so many things that take our attention and focus away from God (see 1 Timothy 6:10). We're busy with work or our studies, our families, our health, even our time to unwind. I'm pretty sure you can relate to this.
In the midst of the busyness and all the running around chasing after deadlines and other things, many of us tend to neglect our relationship with God.
- Back then we used to dedicate time to read our Bibles and pray. Now that time has been taken over by work, or by zoning out because we're tired from work.
- We used to go out on prayer walks around the block or in the park, but now we can't even do that because the baby keeps crying at night and we didn't get a good night's sleep so now we just feel too tired.
- We even used to go to a nearby Christian bookstore or spend time in the books section of the app store to look for a good read from a Spirit-led Christian author. Now we can't even read a short Bible verse that a friend sends to us via text message.
These things happen from time to time, and soon we realize that we've drifted far away from God. We find it hard to sit and be still in God's presence anymore. We don't know what to pray for. We don't understand a word from the Bible when we read it.
It just feels like we're so far away from Him.
Have you ever felt that? If you have, God wants to say this to you:
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." (see Hebrews 13:5)
"I never left you..."
Friends, while it's true that we might have drifted away from God with all our activities, our worries, and our distractions, it is also true that God has never left us alone to abandon us and forsake us.
Some of us might think and feel like God deserted us, but He didn't. We deserted Him. We left Him to pursue our own desires. We left Him because we wanted that job, that car, that high-end gadget, that person, and that happiness we've been looking for.
We were the ones that left Him. He never left us.
So what do we do?
"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first." (see Revelation 2:5)
Dear friend, realize that you left Him and pursued something else. Repent of that and come back. God never left you because He promised that. You have to come back, just like the prodigal son did in Luke 15.
The Father is waiting for you, just like the prodigal son's father was. We can't find the answer to our drifting by looking inward within ourselves, the answer comes from looking at God and seeing how broken-hearted He is. When we realize His longing for companionship with us and how hard it is for Him when He is abandoned by us, we cannot be selfish any longer. That is the power of relationship. It's not about rituals, it's about love. And love puts the other person first.
Come back, dear friend. God loves you very much and He is waiting for you every day until you are back by His side.
