{"id":124,"date":"2013-01-17T07:00:22","date_gmt":"2013-01-17T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/borntoreform\/?p=124"},"modified":"2013-01-16T19:16:10","modified_gmt":"2013-01-17T01:16:10","slug":"what-to-do-when-you-dont-feel-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/borntoreform\/2013\/01\/what-to-do-when-you-dont-feel-god\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do when you don\u2019t \u2018feel\u2019 God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Editor\u2019s Note<\/strong><\/em>: Below is a guest post from my friend, Casey Cease. Casey is an Acts 29 Church Planter in Magnolia Texas and will be releasing his debut book, Tragedy to Truth<\/em><\/a> mid-February.<\/p>\n

These seasons of darkness are not only common, but are necessary for our maturity as followers of Jesus.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow faith is the assurance of things hoped for,\u00a0the conviction of things not seen.\u201d\u00a0Hebrews 11:1<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a minister of the gospel and a follower of Jesus, I have counseled many Christians who were experiencing a season of not \u201cfeeling\u201d God. This experience can be quite disheartening and a discouragement for believers, especially for those whose conversion was a sensational experience. I would argue that these seasons of darkness are not only common, but are necessary for our maturity as followers of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Early on, I would have spiritual highs and spiritual lows. My faith would be shaken if I had a day where I could not \u201cfeel\u201d God. The way I would gauge a worship set or a sermon would be based upon how it made me feel, and whether or not I could feel God. I\u2019ve heard people say that: \u201cThe Holy Spirit really showed up when we started singing, \u2018Shout to the Lord!\u2019\u201d \u2014a prime example of how people perceive God\u2019s presence through feelings.<\/p>\n

As I have wrestled through these seasons and encouraged others going through them, I found there is much to be gleaned from these perceived silences from God. If we could always feel God, why would we need to have faith? After all, the Scripture above from Hebrews says that we need increased hope and conviction in order for our faith to increase.<\/p>\n

In view of the Scriptures mentioned, here are a few things I offer to folks who are going through these seasons of feeling far from God.<\/p>\n

1. Know God<\/h2>\n

Remember, God is not just something to feel\u2014he is someone to know. Our need to feel God is often a sign that we need to know him more.<\/p>\n

2. Confess and repent<\/h2>\n

There are times that our sin hinders our fellowship with God. If we are sensitive to notice a distancing of his presence, let\u2019s make sure it isn\u2019t us who have caused this separation. Fortunately, God\u2019s grace abounds, and our salvation is secure. With this confidence, we can confess our sins and trust in his gracious forgiveness (1 John 1:9<\/a>).<\/p>\n

3. Jesus is the prize<\/h2>\n

We are all guilty of longing for the benefits of God at the expense of the presence and person of God. It is important to rejoice that the reality and existence of God are not contingent on how we are feeling. Instead, God\u2019s grace can be illustrated further in his desire that we mature in our faith and not stay in the same place.<\/p>\n

4. Continue the pursuit<\/h2>\n

If the goal is to know God more than just to feel God, then we must continue to get to know him through prayer, worship, community, and intentional time in his Word. This is where your faith is tested and ultimately strengthened. Continuing to pursue and obey in spite of not feeling God is like adding more weight to the bar as you exercise. It will be difficult, it may hurt, but it is definitely worth it.<\/p>\n

5. Rejoice<\/h2>\n

This lack of feeling becomes even more pronounced in moments when we are going through trials (see James 1:2\u20134<\/a>). James tells his readers to rejoice in their trials because it is in these times that our faith increases, or becomes complete. Those times of not feeling God are helpful in the long run and are meant for God\u2019s glory and for our good. This is not to say that this it\u2019s easy, but if we desire to mature in our faith we have to expect our faith to be tested and tried.<\/p>\n

One of the great gifts of God is his people, the church. When we struggle with this issue, we will be encouraged by those around us in our community. Living your faith in a vacuum will amplify those times that you feel God is far off. The good news is this season does not last forever, and it will ultimately amount to increased faith and greater intimacy with him.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: Below is a guest post from my friend, Casey Cease. Casey is an Acts 29 Church Planter in Magnolia Texas and will be releasing his debut book, Tragedy to Truth mid-February. These seasons of darkness are not only common, but are necessary for our maturity as followers of Jesus. \u201cNow faith is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1333,"featured_media":125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[52,48,49,50,51,21,20],"class_list":["post-124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-posts","tag-absent","tag-casey","tag-cease","tag-feel","tag-feeling","tag-god","tag-trust"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to do when you don\u2019t \u2018feel\u2019 God<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Editor\u2019s Note: Below is a guest post from my friend, Casey Cease. 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