Involved In Church But Not Feeling God’s Presence

Q. If you honestly devote yourself to getting plugged into a church, life groups, studies on your own time, prayer and group prayers; like really dig into a church and seek after God, and adjust your life to the Word and He doesn’t reveal himself….whats the issue then? I’ve heard many testimonies about seeking and seeking and seeking after him and just never feeling his presence.

It seems as though in this instance we are dealing with a lack of feeling God’s presence in one’s life. Theologically speaking, there is no gray area with a person who is a true disciple of Christ and who isn’t. We know that through what Mark 1:15 and Acts 20:21 tell us, we can accept the free gift of salvation that God offers by repenting and believing. We also know through Scripture that once a person has genuinely committed their life to Jesus, they cannot forfeit or lose that position (Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:38).

The items listed within the question itself can all be accomplished without truly understanding Christ’s message of truth. These items can all be done out of a false sense of security and sadly, in many cultures, these sorts of things are done merely out of some type of a cultural, governmental, or family obligation. Even James 2:19 tells us that “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble!” James is stating that even demons believe in God, but they obviously have rebelled and turned their back on Him so they miss the whole point.

It’s Not About What We “Do”

For those who feel like they are trying to “do things right,” it is not about that. Romans 3:10 says that “There is none righteous, no, not one,” so we know that we can’t do anything on our own to make ourselves be in good standing with God. And others might say, I just want to feel God in my life. Well, feelings many times are subjective and temporal. We can’t expect to find answers from God in the clouds or on billboards. Faith is what the Bible says it is: “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1).

We must come to the point in our lives where doing a ton of good things like going to church, helping old ladies across streets, building homes for people, and feeding the homeless aren’t going to give us the feeling of connection we need with God. Even if we are attempting with all of our might to feel God, if it is done with an improper foundation, it is useless. We must be realistic about the situation rather than emotional. Objectivity, rather than subjectivity in this case leads us to the heart of the matter: that we are sinners, undeserving of knowing, much less being able to feel God; and yet, God, showed us so much love that He sacrificed Himself for us. If our focus is on the Gospel (in greek – euangello – good message – 1 Cor. 15:1-4), then we won’t be worrying about having some type of an emotional connection with God. We will see our situation for what it really is. We will see God for who He really is. We will base our coming to God off of reason, not emotions. The emotional component will come later, as it does with any relationship.

This entry was posted on March 8, 2010 at March 8, 2010 and is filed under Christian Living, God, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.