When God Feels Distant, He May Want Us to Grow Up

[Music] is God distant from me because I messed up because I heard him because I made choices that made him mad at me this line of questions is actually a surprisingly common email we get from people especially when it feels like nothing in life is going their way the question comes in today from a listener named Kristen dear Pastor John I'm writing to you because I'm very concerned that I have lost God forever I've been very active in our church community in about three years ago really experienced joy in Christ I felt the gifts of the Holy Spirit and I was talking and singing about God all the time later that year I met my now ex boyfriend who said that being so happy and committed to my local church was delusional and that should not go as much or listen so intently to what was caught at our community youth group I was scared he would dump me so I slowly stopped going to church and singing and praying as much because I didn't want to lose the man I thought was going to be my husband while dating this man had turned away from the church I felt God was upset with me and would not take me back as I had had sex before marriage I was also very mad when my dad was diagnosed with cancer and I myself was having health issues of my own but now I want to turn back to God but I fear that my heart is hardened I feel a pain in my chest when I come to church am I lost is there any hope for my restoration again I'm scared that I have squandered something precious that cannot be reclaimed Kristen I have a great hope for you I think a well-grounded hope for you but before I give you the reason for that hope and invite you into it let me say something sobering that at first might make you feel worse but I promise you that if you hear me all the way it will be good news you say that the reason you doubt God would have you back is that you've messed up so badly sex outside marriage left the church got angry at God for your dad's cancer and all that is is is right you're right that's that's terrible that you did that but you you described your previous condition as spiritually strong active in your church community and experiencing joy in Christ feeling the gifts of the Holy Spirit talking and singing about God all the time now what I wanted want you to do is consider the possibility which i think is probably the case consider the possibility that your spiritual condition in those good years was not as good as you think it was you were having many religious experiences Church joy gifts singing but when it came to the actual obedience where you had to choose between the value of Christ and a boyfriend leading you away from Christ you chose the boyfriend your situation was like the Israelites Deuteronomy 13 verse 1 if a prophet not to mention a boyfriend arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder that comes to pass and if he says let us go after other gods and let us serve them you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that boyfriend for the Lord is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul so in a sense I am making matters worse for you right this does not feel good I'm sure you failed that test you chose the false prophet over Jesus but let me tell you now why this may be really good news for you you interpret the last years of your life as a terrible departure from a close walk with God and I am suggesting that the Lord may be doing in your life something very different I'm suggesting the Lord is not in these years allowing you to lose a close walk with God but rescuing you from a phony walk with God you got that you might have to listen to what I just said over again I'm suggesting that what's happened in the last months or years I can't remember how long you you have in mind here he's not allowing you to lose a close walk with God but rescuing you from a phony walk with God that was very religious but not real if you loved Jesus so little that a boyfriend was more important than Jesus you did not have a close walk with God whatever it was God wrecked it right he wrecked it and now through the miseries of that wreckage he has awakened in you a heart a new desire for him and he's not inviting you back to the old kind of joy and singing and church life no no the kind that concealed a heart that was ready to commit idolatry as soon as the boyfriend came along he's got something way better way better planned for you than that he's rescued me from that fakery God is not restoring that something so weak and so superficial it couldn't keep you out of a unbelievers arms he wrecked that and then spared you he spared you from marrying that man God is doing something far deeper and better than that he is aiming this is my interpretation of what he's doing you have to test this to see if it's of God he is aiming at a deep strong doctrinally sound Christ exalting Bible saturated unshakable new you not a return to the religious you that sells Jesus like a Judas for a 30-piece silver boyfriend Kristen I can hear you say whoa the hounds are tough words Pastor John then I wrote them knowing that we're tough Kristen because I want you to be tough I want I want you to be tough unshakable unbendable in your allegiance to Jesus as your supreme treasure no loosey-goosey churchy emotional stuff anymore I'm talking major deep down unshakable authentic allegiance to your king and your supreme treasure I don't I'm not interested in making you feel soft right now I want you to be tough that's my hope field interpretation Christian of what God is doing in your life now here are a couple biblical reasons why you should feel hope instead of despair the pain in your chest at church will I think go away when you take hold of these truths and knock Satan over the head with them so I'm gonna suggest that you read and this is risky the sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel it's very long 63 verses it is a horrible depiction of unfaithfulness between Israel and her husband God it portrays God giving her over he gives her over to terrible horrible judgments but don't stop reading Christian don't stop reading till you get to the last five verses they come as a staggering absolutely astonishing act of gracious forgiveness I'll read them to you I will establish my covenant with you and you will know that I am the lord that you may remember and be confounded and never open your mouth again because of your shame when I atone for you for all that you have done declares the Lord God but even more to the point christen consider why God saved the Apostle Paul only after he had become a Christian killer and a persecutor of the church and here's the reason Paul gives and it's written in first timothy 1:16 for you you need to hear this for you and I know it because you'll hear it I receive mercy for this reason that in me as the foremost Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to put your name in here Kristen as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life so Christian God saved Paul from being the worst example of a legalistic hateful Christian killer so that you would feel Christ's perfect patience and take heart to believe on him for eternal life and I will pray with you that God grants you to see this and feel this and happily come home absolutely profoundly important sometimes God feels distant because he wants us to grow up and to grow deeper in relationship with him that is such a hopeful and a helpful message Pastor John thank you and Kristen thinks we're opening up your life to us so honestly it's greatly appreciated to hear from you thank you for sending in the email and thanks for listening and supporting this podcast you can stay current with the a special John podcast episodes on your phone or your device by subscribing through your favorite podcast catcher and of course you can search our past episodes in our archive and send us an email of your own even questions about why God seems so withdrawn from your life and what is he what is he doing when he does this he can do that you can ask the hardest questions all through our online home at desiring God org forward slash ask Pastor John well I believe next time we're gonna talk about the high power men who have been caught recently in sexual allegations from women of course I'm talking about Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey and louis c.k and Al Franken and Roger Ailes and Roy Moore and Bill O'Reilly and Garrison Keillor it's on the left and the right it's liberals and Democrats it's from Hollywood to Minneapolis to DC to New York City it's politicians and entertainers and pastor John I think it would be good for you to debrief your thoughts for us what should we take away from all of this what should we learn and we're gonna do that next time on Friday until then I'm your host Tony raki we'll see you then you

Channel: Desiring God

Views: 296,459

Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism, Distant, joy, faith, abandoned, lost, dumped, marriage, boyfriend, lonely, losing your salvation, restoration, grow, sanctification, hope, saves, heals, broken, angry, Satan, enemy, lies, Ask Pastor John, APJ, Piper

Id: -UvmxaK_0bo

Length: 11min 44sec (704 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 13 2018