Closer Than the Clouds

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8

Did you catch it? Read it again.

“Then the man and his wife HEARD the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden…”

If you’re like me, you have never picked up on that in this verse before. A friend of mine and I were looking at this passage together one day and it blew us away. I went to a trusted professor of mine and asked him if this meant that God had a physical presence among Adam and Even in the Garden. He answered that he thought it very very likely.

As I continued to reflect on this, I thought about the moment that Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden due to their sin and my stomach sank. They were cast out of perfect fellowship with the FATHER. Is it any wonder that ever since that moment, humankind has been desperate for the presence of God?

We are told in Psalm 16:11 that in God’s presence we find the fullness of joy. Not some of it, not half of it, but the fullness of it. I can only conclude then, that this desire to always feel God’s presence and be near Him is one hundred million percent natural. And one day, all the saints will be gathered together in His perfect presence and the striving will be over.

But what about now? What about when we don’t feel His presence and the one who is supposed to feel nearer than our own hearts feels distant?

John 1:1- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

In terms of Jewish rabbis, they “often referred to God in terms of His word” (David Guzik John 1 Commentary). The two things were inextricably connected. This seems to be made apparent by this first verse of John. God and His Word are indivisible. You cannot accept one without accepting the other. But how does this apply to our lives when God seems less than near to us?

Let me ask you, if God feels far away from you right now, how far away are you from your Bible?

Is it sitting on a shelf collecting dust? Or is it nearly inseparable from your grasp? You see, logically, if God and His Word are intertwined, it seems to me that the closer we are to His Word, the closer we will grow to Him and begin to see and feel His presence in our lives. While we may still long to see our Heavenly Father, and feel his embrace, we can still be drawing near to him in a very tangible way. It comes down to how you are choosing to react when you feel some distance. Are you growing bitter and shoving Him away? That’s not going to help you. Or are you choosing to seek Him through His Word just as you would text that friend you haven’t seen in ages?

Hebrews 4:12- “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

When I was preparing to write this entry, a couple of you asked about how to feel near the Lord when you are experiencing what feel like barriers towards Him. I think this is a great question, albeit a hard one. I have a feeling my answer to this will be slightly unpopular as it is not the “feel good” answer.

God’s word is so sharp it can divide even the soul from the spirit, it judges our thoughts and attitudes. Something that powerful also has the power to break down barriers.. If you are trying to keep God in the Bible and not in your life, the natural conclusion is that He will feel distant to you.

If you are feeling like there are walls between you and God, tell Him. Don’t just accept it and expect him to come crashing in with a wrecking ball. BE. IN. THE. WORD.

Psalm 139:7- “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”

In our minds, so many of us think of God in His omnipresence as being far away, floating above the clouds and passively watching the world below. No. NO. Although He sometimes feels far away, we cannot flee from His presence, it is all around us.

I’d venture to say that your Heavenly Father is so near to you, that He will know your pain by the rhythmic changes of your breath and the tears which fall upon His shoulders.

When I have been in times of feeling distant from the Lord, I have realized that I was dependent upon a feeling to inform my faith. I ignored the truth of His promise to never forsake me (Matt. 28:20). Feelings can certainly enhance our faith, God created them, of course they play an important role in our lives. But they should not determine our faith, nor our belief in the nearness of our Heavenly Father.

Dear Christian, cling to His promises, choose faith to train your feelings to follow. When you do not feel that He is near, are you still choosing to believe it?

James 4:8- “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Honestly, the times I have felt furthest from God are the times I have chosen to push Him away by not being in Scripture, not praying and not fellowshipping. They have been my own fault.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

I have heard the saying that God is a gentleman--He will never force Himself on you. While I believe there to be some truth in that statement, I’d like to alter it a little. God doesn’t necessarily force Himself upon people, but He certainly makes Himself known in order to be known by us. Think of Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, or the ten plagues in Egypt, or even the sending of Christ to earth. Christ didn’t force Himself upon anyone, but He made sure they knew who He was so that they could not claim to not know the truth.

This concept that He will draw near to us when we draw near to Him does not mean He is far away. But when we choose to seek His face through Scripture, prayer, fellowship, observation, etc., our eyes are opened to just how near He really is. When your heart is open to receiving His presence, He will gladly and lovingly make Himself more and more known to us.

It seems to me, then, that oftentimes a lack of feeling God’s presence or even just knowing it more fully, stems from a lack of us utilizing the resources we have been given.

Closing thoughts

I do not deny that we will go through times of spiritual wilderness where no matter what we do, no matter what we are told, no matter how much we cry out, the Lord feels distant. This is an unfortunate post-Eden reality.

What I am not denying however, is the power of Scripture and prayer. We have all we need to live a life modeled after Christ. There is no blog, self-help book, sermon, etc. that could ever replace the words that come straight from the heart of the Father.

If you are not feeling the Lord’s presence right now, I would challenge and encourage you to aggressively dive into your Bible time. As I say quite often, you don’t need the fancy highlighters, the perfectly embellished Bible, or the aesthetically designed quiet corner to do this.

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” 1 Chronicles 16:11

“M”