Healthy relationships require lots of bond-building things like communication, honesty, and truth spoken in love. Each day we’re either growing closer to another person or we’re drifting apart. Relationships aren’t static. They’re dynamic. 
In our relationship with God, the same pattern plays out. We’re either growing closer to Him or we’re tumbling away like fallen leaves blown by a cool autumn wind.
God tells us that He’s “near to us whenever we call on Him” (Deuteronomy 4:7). The Apostle Paul revealed that God is thisclose when he penned, “He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:27-28).
So when we feel distant from God, it’s on us. He’s still there. We’ve moved.
The things that often cause us to foolishly flitter away from Him include:
• pride
• laziness
• shame
• disobedience
• sin
• faithlessness
Where are you today—being blown farther and farther away from God by a cool wind you’ve embraced or are you drawing closer to Him and experiencing the warmth and love of real relationship?
jasmine28 on September 20, 2010 at 7:42 pm
thanks for the this article 🙂 it’s great!
tom felten on September 21, 2010 at 9:09 am
jasmine, so glad this post spoke to you. It’s great to have you in the ODJ community!
tintin on September 29, 2010 at 2:15 am
thank you for this article. challenging yet inspiring…
i can proudly say that I’m in the Lord’s warm embrace.
Invisible on September 20, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Trying to inch my way closer, just to try and get a good look.
tom felten on September 21, 2010 at 9:15 am
Invisible, keep looking for God with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). He is there.
Invisible on September 21, 2010 at 10:52 am
The bible really says that?
Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)
13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Then why is it taking over 40 years????
I still don’t feel like I’ve found him.
What does that mean anyway? I believe in him but I don’t feel close to him or anything and I just can’t understand why.
tom felten on September 21, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Invisible, real relationship with God begins when we’re saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8). Have you recevied His gift of salvation? If not, relationship with God is impossible. But once we recevie Jesus as our Savior, His Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us—counseling and comforting us and helping us understand God’s Word. Check out this brief article: http://rbc.org/questionsDetail.aspx?id=57938&Topic=784 It explains our need to both know God’s truth and believe in Him. Let me know what you think after you read it.
Invisible on September 21, 2010 at 4:10 pm
I read the article and have thought on what you said. Have I received his gift of salvation? I think so. Yea, I’m pretty sure, I mean I believe that Jesus died on the cross. I’ve been told, especially lately that it’s through God’s grace. I’ve heard it, I’ve read it. It’s through God’s grace…It’s through God’s grace…only…there’s nothing you can do to earn going to heaven.
Does not make sense to me. There has to be something you can do. In the article it talks about it…it talks about “faith” and it also says that so and so did this and God was pleased, someone gave a better sacrifice and God was pleased, Enoch was taken to heaven and didn’t have to die. He was taken because he pleased God. So what did they do?
I do believe in him, but am I close to him? No, I’m definitely not. I’m not sure what it looks like except that I keep hearing about it and know deep down that I’m never going to experience it. Actually what it looks like to me is like this feeling or understanding that God loves you and accepts you. There’s no doubt. No matter what you experience, no matter how traumatic, you still trust God and believe he loves you. There seems to be this peace or something, in situations where there shouldn’t be peace. Well I want it but can never get close to God, not like that.
You know, I AM trying to understand all of this. I see something that I want. I just want to know what I need to do get it.
What do you have to do to please God?
r. panahon on September 21, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Invisible, it is true that nothing you can do to earn going to heaven it’s only through Christ! And what pleases Him is that after you have asked Him to forgive your sin and cleanse you for all the wrong things you’ve done in the past then receive Him as your God & Savior and experienced His love, you share it to others. Tell everybody how good God is!
ecieun on September 22, 2010 at 2:33 am
Hey Invisible, I hope i understood your querry. I understand how sometimes people take Christianity just as a religion and that there is always this hunger to experience it. For me, it was all theories until I went to a conference one day and I really experienced the preence of God, and everything became so real.
So back to the question, ‘what we have to do to please God’, well basically the verse itself gives the answer that without faith it is impossible to please God, so primarily, faith alone pleases God. We are all saved by grace through faith. Our salvation is entirely a gift from God, and what we need to do is accept it by faith, an also ask God for His Holy Spirit to fill us.
The part regarding sacrifice, I believe that would be an outflow of faith. Because we have faith in God, this bears fruit, into good works etc. There is technically nothing we can do by our own efforts to please God, faith comes first and this is by grace, the actions would be a result of faith.
I hope this helped. To the lovely people at odj, please correct me if I’m wrong. Gotta go lecture now, but never stop seeking Invisible, becaue God is always there ready to embrace You. He is not a distant God.
Do ask if there’s more quiestions, I’m sure there’ll be help.
Invisible on September 22, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Ecieun,
I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the presence of God. If it is all and only by faith that you can please God then I fail.
tom felten on September 23, 2010 at 7:26 am
Invisible, the gospel of John has consistently helped me grow in my knowledge of God and my love for Him. Check out this online booklet: http://rbc.org/bible-study/discovery-series/bookletDetail.aspx?id=48262&Topic=888# One other thought, in Mark 9:14-29, there’s the account of Jesus and a father whose son needed help. The man’s classic line is, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). That’s a prayer that you could lift up to God—that He will help you fully believe in Him. You’re in my prayers.
Invisible on September 23, 2010 at 9:54 am
That is the second time that this story has been referenced. I will take it to heart, and hope that God will hear me. Thank you
tom felten on September 24, 2010 at 2:00 pm
You’re welcome! Remember what Paul wrote, “We live by believing and not by seeing” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
LastingImpressions on October 27, 2010 at 9:04 pm
It’s better to try and fail, than to never try. Pray for an increase in faith, and you’ll be suprised by the difference in your life.
jayenn on September 25, 2010 at 9:14 pm
thanks a lot for this article! i’ve yet to feel God for a very long time, and maybe its time for me to update on my prayer points 🙂
ivy on October 25, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Thank you, Tom, for the awe-inspiring article. It’s truly spot-on…
tom felten on October 26, 2010 at 7:29 am
So glad it spoke to your heart, ivy. It changes everything when we truly grasp that God “is not far from any one of us.” Peace.
LastingImpressions on October 27, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Wow!! This is deep..It really makes you think about both your physical relationships (that is with man) and spiritual relationship (with God). I have always believed that sometimes the way we treat others/the type of relationships we hold with those around us can reflect the type of relationship we have with God. Good post! 🙂
Jesusthinksam2die4 on November 8, 2010 at 7:39 am
Many times, I feel like o yes, am getting closer to God, I feel God’s presence, I hear him talk to me, I cry in praise and worship,dream dreams and prophesies come through in my life and my life is just full of testimonies……
but then in other times, I feel so dry,like everything am doing is pointless and everything am doing is just a waste of time.
but I have come to the realization that the love of God is not a touchy-feeling emotional thing, although we are human, we enjoy those feely things but they are just a tiny fraction of what God’s love is.
God love is EVERLASTING,so even when we don’t feel good,his love is ALL COMPASSING……….thats just so awesome, i thought I should share it.
To the topic about distance, you don’t become best friends with somebody the day you meet the person, its a process, so you meet them,talk to them,see them,have fun together, share your problems and triumphs with ,fight, make-up,it takes time and energy and patience…
Thats just like God, don’t expect to feel his presence every day especially when you don’t spend time with him,you have to be willing to invest and sacrifice,so everyday
Prayer (talking and hearing from God)
Reading his word (hearing from God)
Meditating (dissecting what his word is saying and applying it to your life)
Praise and worship (acknowledging that he is big and you are small)
I also find it particularly helpful to keep a journal, so if i read a verse and see something different,i write it down, I also write prayer request,testimonies,and some of my deepest thoughts to God, it also help me to gauge how far have come in bible study and spiritual growth
So in my desert times,when I don’t feel particularly close to God, I read all those wonderful things I have written in my quiet time, and I tend to feel better.
Sometimes I don’t feel better,but I train myself to believe that, my emotions are of little significance in my walk of faith, God is working out everything for my good and his Love is beyond my understanding.
GOD said it, I believe it,that settles it
(am sorry for waffling on and on, this tends to happen when i write or type(if only am not a shy person and cant talk as much as i can write,..lol))
ianderson8606 on November 11, 2010 at 3:18 pm
i feel as tho i am in the middle of tornado and the wind (life) is constantly pulling from God…everytime i get a little more comfortable with my life and my beliefs something always comes and shatters it. My situation i am going through now seems the be the icing on the cake bc i now see my mother for the person she is and not as my mother and the daughter that should forgive always and this has created/or more or less ended my relationship with my mother although to be honest we havent have a relationship since i was 7…we just co-exsiented….my issue is i have never been so angry with God and my life before to the point where i wont pray bc i feel as tho i havent been getting an answer and i have been praying since i was 7 for an answer for us….why is the devil working so hard to pull god and my mother away?