More than once someone has said to me, "God just seems so far away" (or some variation of that). Maybe you've heard the slogan,
If God seems far away,
He's not the one who moved!
With the idea of this meaning, that God is always with you and if He seems far away, you are the one who has pulled away from God. God is not only with you but He is pursuing you. So, if God is distant - guess what? It isn't His fault!
Like all slogans and "tweets" these days, it is pretty hard to express complete truth in 140 or so characters.
And since the Christian faith is messy and mysterious and full of wonderful depth and substance, the Christian faith is usually more complex than simplistic tweets can convey.
So, if God seems far away, perhaps it is because God has moved on and you have been blissfully (or narcissistically) unaware that God is on the move.
I love the narrative of Israel in the wilderness. When God moves they must move with Him. When God camps out, they too must camp. Of course they had a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day to give them great confidence when God was on the move. Of course, the story is a sad one because they didn't like the way and direction God was moving and so they rebelled.
By the way, could you imagine being an Israelite who decided to say in Egypt, who is wondering why God seems far away... and you say to them, "God's not the One who moved. Just pray and be attentive and you'll experience Him?"
In the Gospels, Jesus is always on the move. The disciples needed to move with him.
In Galatians 5:25 Paul says to "keep in step with the Spirit." The image is that the Spirit of God is on the move, not standing still, not staying put... and so you better not either. If you do, it won't be long until God seems far away.
Don't you love the exciting statement by Mr. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. "Aslan is on the move."
Charles Ringma has written a nice devotional book around the theme of the Spirit of God blowing like the wind and our needing to set our sails to catch that wind and go with it.
The language of Psalm 84:5-7 speaks of the pilgrimage nature of the Christian JOURNEY.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
(a place of barrenness)
they make it a place of springs...
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
The Scriptures testify to the fact that God is on the move and if we settle down, if we become complacently situated and comfortably numb (thanks to Pink Floyd for this image) - then, yes, you should sense that God seems far away.
He is far away!
Time to get up and get moving. He'll lead you to where He is.
The life of following Christ always needs:
Radical Readiness
Ruthless Trust
Prompt Obedience
Leaps of Faith
If it feels like God seems far away... He may indeed be far away. He has moved on and you haven't. Don't just sit there. Get on with the journey, the pilgrimage, the seeking...
And He'll draw you to where He is... so you can keep moving on.
Joy on the Pilgrim's Journey...
Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com
