Why is it Difficult to get Closer to God?
This is a perennial question for all Christians because worshiping God means being in a relationship with Him, and being in a relationship is a dynamic thing - if the relationship is healthy. Healthy relationships are marked by growth and grace and a relationship with God is no exception.
The greatest obstacle that faces us when we want to draw near to God is that He is hoyl and we are not. God implores His people in the Book of Leviticus to be holy because He is holy. Think of it this way - if you are a neat person ands hare an apartment with a slob, you need to remember this when you want to talk to him (or her) about keeping up the apartment. Similarly because God is holy we have to remember that we are, in fact, sinful by nature. Therefore we must be mindful of our sins in our relationship with God. That is why it is a good idea to begin prayer with confession.
Even once we have been restored to God with a right relationship that does not mean that there will not be further sins to confess, in time, or other areas of our life to turn over to Him. God is not content to merely transform your personal life - He wants to shine His light into your entire life: family, private, business, etc. We often face a struggle when we feel God's distance but we may find, if we're being honest, that there are aspects of our lives we are unwilling to give up.
The problem of the rich young man explains this dilemma. He already kept the commandments and wanted to know what else was required to have eternal life with God. Jesus answered the question by telling him to sell all that he had and to give the money to the poor at which point this rich fellow went away saddened because he cherished his wealth (Matthew 19, Mark 10).
What do you cherish more than God? Jesus invited His followers to pursue treasures that had heavenly value, not earthly value. When we live for ourselves we are actually short-changing ourselves - by living for ourselves we do not live for God. Every time we sin we are living for ourselves, and sin is ot merely breaking the ten commandments. Sin is, ultimately, an attitude towards God that does not care what He wants or who He is. I think the Christian rock band Pillar captured this struggle in their song "Everything":
You don't need a revelation
To open up your mind
Break down all your reasons
Leave them all behind
'Cause it takes faith for moving mountains
And strength to walk the line
Your apology accepted
And there's nothing you can hide
The last line there is the kicker - there is nothing, no aspect of our lives, that we can safely shield from God and tell Him "I just want this." With God we are called to lead our whole lives for Him. It takes time, certainly, and maturity to turn our lives over to Him. We are not perfected upon receiving the gift of salvation. We are perfected over the course of our relationship with God, a process the Bible calls "sanctification," or being made holy - just like God is and He calls us to be.
God may also feel distant if we are being tested. God tests us in such a fashion to see how we stand in Him even when our feelings are not up to par. I think this is a particularly relevant way for God to test us today because we are a people, and a culture, that so often equates feeling good with actually being morally good - and too many people have forgotten the difference.
Finally, when we become a Christian we have to realize that we are put on the front lines of a spiritual battle and we can expect the enemy to attack us. The devil prowls like a hungry lion, writes Peter, looking for those whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Sometimes the attack can come from feelings of being abandoned, even by God, or by fellow Christians or close friends. One of Satan's most effective weapons is to make Christians feel they are isolated and powerless. But believers are given power over Satan in the name of Jesus Christ.
When we are at a dry spot in our spiritual life, wondering why God seems distant or wondering why we are not closer to Him we need to be aware of three things: that we may be holding out on God by clinging to various parts of our lives, that we may be being tested, or that we may be under spiritual attack. Be careful, however - don't read this and presume that there is no aspect of your life that is not turned over to God. One of the first things I learned as a Christian was that I can't always trust myself, and trusting ourselves too readily may end up in missing a part of our life that we still try to hold independent from God.
The greatest obstacle that faces us when we want to draw near to God is that He is hoyl and we are not. God implores His people in the Book of Leviticus to be holy because He is holy. Think of it this way - if you are a neat person ands hare an apartment with a slob, you need to remember this when you want to talk to him (or her) about keeping up the apartment. Similarly because God is holy we have to remember that we are, in fact, sinful by nature. Therefore we must be mindful of our sins in our relationship with God. That is why it is a good idea to begin prayer with confession.
Even once we have been restored to God with a right relationship that does not mean that there will not be further sins to confess, in time, or other areas of our life to turn over to Him. God is not content to merely transform your personal life - He wants to shine His light into your entire life: family, private, business, etc. We often face a struggle when we feel God's distance but we may find, if we're being honest, that there are aspects of our lives we are unwilling to give up.
The problem of the rich young man explains this dilemma. He already kept the commandments and wanted to know what else was required to have eternal life with God. Jesus answered the question by telling him to sell all that he had and to give the money to the poor at which point this rich fellow went away saddened because he cherished his wealth (Matthew 19, Mark 10).
What do you cherish more than God? Jesus invited His followers to pursue treasures that had heavenly value, not earthly value. When we live for ourselves we are actually short-changing ourselves - by living for ourselves we do not live for God. Every time we sin we are living for ourselves, and sin is ot merely breaking the ten commandments. Sin is, ultimately, an attitude towards God that does not care what He wants or who He is. I think the Christian rock band Pillar captured this struggle in their song "Everything":
You don't need a revelation
To open up your mind
Break down all your reasons
Leave them all behind
'Cause it takes faith for moving mountains
And strength to walk the line
Your apology accepted
And there's nothing you can hide
The last line there is the kicker - there is nothing, no aspect of our lives, that we can safely shield from God and tell Him "I just want this." With God we are called to lead our whole lives for Him. It takes time, certainly, and maturity to turn our lives over to Him. We are not perfected upon receiving the gift of salvation. We are perfected over the course of our relationship with God, a process the Bible calls "sanctification," or being made holy - just like God is and He calls us to be.
God may also feel distant if we are being tested. God tests us in such a fashion to see how we stand in Him even when our feelings are not up to par. I think this is a particularly relevant way for God to test us today because we are a people, and a culture, that so often equates feeling good with actually being morally good - and too many people have forgotten the difference.
Finally, when we become a Christian we have to realize that we are put on the front lines of a spiritual battle and we can expect the enemy to attack us. The devil prowls like a hungry lion, writes Peter, looking for those whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Sometimes the attack can come from feelings of being abandoned, even by God, or by fellow Christians or close friends. One of Satan's most effective weapons is to make Christians feel they are isolated and powerless. But believers are given power over Satan in the name of Jesus Christ.
When we are at a dry spot in our spiritual life, wondering why God seems distant or wondering why we are not closer to Him we need to be aware of three things: that we may be holding out on God by clinging to various parts of our lives, that we may be being tested, or that we may be under spiritual attack. Be careful, however - don't read this and presume that there is no aspect of your life that is not turned over to God. One of the first things I learned as a Christian was that I can't always trust myself, and trusting ourselves too readily may end up in missing a part of our life that we still try to hold independent from God.
posted by Brian at 4:28 PM
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