When God Feels Distant
There have been seasons in my life when I’ve cried during worship, not because I feel so closely connected to God, but because I feel like I’m just going through the motions. When I whispered prayers that felt like they evaporated midair.
When I kept showing up, because I wanted to believe, but it felt like God had gone quiet.
It wasn’t that I was walking away. I just… couldn’t feel Him.
And in one of those seasons, somewhere between desperation and hope, I started reading the stories of ancient Israel. Not for a Bible study. Not to prep a teaching. I was just searching…for understanding, for connection, for any clue about what to do when God feels distant.
What I found wasn’t flashy or deep-theology. But it changed everything. There was a rhythm. A pattern I hadn’t noticed before. It showed up again and again when Israel faced silence, exile, wilderness, or fear.
They remembered. They gave thanks. They clung to the promise.
Or, if you like letters:
Past. Provision. Promise.
I didn’t set out looking for a certain formula, or pattern. I was just looking for inspiration from stories. I just wanted to survive my faith.
But once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it, and when I started living it, something shifted.
Here’s what I mean:
1. Past: What Has He Already Done?
When Israel didn’t know what God was doing now, they looked back at what He had done then.
They recited their story and remembered what God had done:
The God who split the sea.
The God who brought them out of slavery.
The God who gave water from a rock.
They remembered because, honestly, at times, they probably forgot. And remembering grounded them.
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.”
— Psalm 77:11
So I started doing the same. I’d look back on my journals, my prayers, my seasons of rescue and provision…all the moments I knew God had moved, even when I’d forgotten the details.
It didn’t change what I was walking through. But it reminded me who was walking with me.
2. Provision: What Is He Doing Right Now?
Even in the wilderness, God provided. Maybe not the way they expected, but they always had enough.
He sent manna. Not a stockpile. Not a five-year plan. Just enough for today.
“Then the Lord said… I will rain down bread from heaven…
Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day.”
— Exodus 16:4
Some days, that’s all I could see too. Enough peace to get through the hour. Enough strength to make the appointment. Enough kindness from someone unexpected to lift my spirit for the day.
It didn’t feel miraculous. But it was.
When I started thanking Him for what he was doing, even the smallest things, my eyes opened to how present He still was.
3. Promise: What Has He Said He’ll Do?
And then there were the promises.
Sometimes Israel would repeat them back to God, not to remind Him, but to remind themselves.
“When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you…”
— Isaiah 43:2
I began doing the same. Whispering promises I wasn’t sure I believed in the moment, but that I was choosing to stand on anyway.
He will never leave. He is working all things together for good. He is coming again.
I held onto them, not as cliché answers, but as lifelines.
I tried it:
Past. Provision. Promise.
And holy moly…it worked.
Not like a magic formula. God didn’t burst through the clouds with fireworks. But little by little, I wasn’t unraveling anymore. My faith was strengthened.
I was anchored.
If you're in that place, uncertain, numb, wandering, I hope you hear this:
You are not alone.
You are not broken.
And you are not the first to feel this way.
Go back to what you know.
Look for what He’s still doing.
Cling to what He’s said He’ll do.
It might not fix everything. But it could be the beginning of feeling steady and more sure again.
And sometimes? That’s more than enough.
