I’ve had a few scary moments in my life where I came close to drowning.
One time I was swimming on vacation in Maui. I looked into the deep, crystal blue ocean and saw an enormous Stingray. I decided to follow it (this was before I knew they could hurt people). When it swam out of view, I looked up and saw waves crashing fiercely against the black pointy rocks. I could no longer see the sandy shore of safety.
I drifted away without even realizing it.
Without a life-vest, I began to swim for dear life. I set a visual marker as a goal but every time I looked up the current brought me back to where I began. Slowly my exertion propelled me one stroke forward and two strokes back.
I’ll never forget the relief I felt when I made it to shore, huffing and puffing from sheer exhaustion.
Do you ever feel yourself drifting away spiritually without even noticing? Share on X
Suddenly, God feels distant and out of reach? It feels hard to get to Him. Life becomes a ritual of daily tasks and you’ve lost the joy of the Lord?
Thinking back on that frightening incident, I’m reminded how easily I take my focus off the Lord and allow the things of the world to slowly pull me away. And it’s not that God ever left me. It’s that I was following something else and allowing other things (even good pursuits) to be more important than seeking Him.
What do we do when we feel distant from God?
The answer is summed up in just one word. Seek.
We seek Him.
It’s the one treasure hunt that will never disappoint. #SeekGod! Share on X
And those who seek me find me. Proverbs 8:17
God promises that when we seek Him, He will be found. Share on X
He’s not hiding from us.
He’s not ignoring us.
He’s not out of reach.
I think we just want Him to make the first move and we don’t realize that He already did.
He did make the first move!
God became flesh and suffered and died on the cross to show us that His love is real.
When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He left the gift of His Holy Spirit to live inside of us and be present with us every single minute of every single day so we wouldn’t be alone. And yet we think He left us?
Jeremiah 29:13 is one of my favorite verses.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.
I keep this bookmark in my Bible as a reminder that when I open His Word to seek Him, I will find Him.
There are many verses that reassure us that when we look for Jesus, He will be there for us:
Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.
James 4:8
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on Him while He is near.
Isaiah 55:6
Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7
If you seek Him, He will be found.
I Chronicles 28:9
I sought the Lord and He answered me.
Psalm 34:4
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
I know sometimes we’re hurting and we just want Jesus to scoop us up in His loving arms. There are times in our suffering when God makes His presence evident to our hearts in real ways that only we could understand.
And other times when our hearts feel dry. He wants us to seek Him. To pray. To sneak away with Him and open His Word. To put praise music on. To worship him. To confess our sins. To repent. To love others. To give. To serve. To fellowship. To forgive. To surrender. To rejoice.
Do you feel distant from the Lord? If you do, I pray that you will seek the Lord with all of your heart because He wants you to know Him.
I would love for you to share in the comment section about a time when you sought the Lord and found Him.
Dear Father,
Forgive me for allowing myself to drift away from you. Lord, I’m thirsty for you now. I need you. I draw close to you and pray that you would draw close to me. Forgive me for my pride and selfishness. Forgive me for doubting your love for me. You have always been here right by my side. You never leave me. You never forsake me. You will always be found. My search never leaves me empty but instead fills me to the brim with eternal hope. Fill me with contagious joy, Lord! I celebrate the gift of my salvation and the forgiveness of my sins.
I’ve provided a copy of Jeremiah 29:13 for you to keep in your Bible. I printed mine off on glossy photo paper. I also love that it’s a large bookmark that’s easy to find and doesn’t get lost in my big Bible!
Bible Bookmarks!
Hello there! I'm Valerie, a mom of four and wife of 27 years. My writing inspires others to cultivate courageous faith and find solace in trusting God, especially in moments of fear and uncertainty. Join me on this adventure as we explore the beauty of trusting God when we are afraid. 
Thank you Valerie, it was very refreshing to read your post
Great post Valerie! Just recently I came back to the Lord. My husband and I haven’t stepped a foot in a church for almost 2 years. We had moved to California hoping to pursue a better life and instead we came back home in New York. The whole time I had lived in California, I felt God was so far away. I felt like how Adam and Eve felt when they disobeyed and were put out of the garden. It was the most worst feeling I ever had. Reading your post, gave me more encouragement than rver. Thanks for sharing. God bless you.
Martika, I’m so glad this encouraged your heart. I’m so sorry about your time in California and how hard it was. It can be so hard when we can’t find a church home where we can find fellowship with other believers. Thank you for blessing me with your kind words today. Praying that as you seek Him and draw close to the Lord, He will draw close to you.
Valerie – wow, what a word picture you paint with swimming in the ocean and trying to make your way back to shore. You did such a great job of pulling me in. I think it is so easy to drift away and feel distant from God if we don’t keep it our single focus to press in and move towards Him every single day. Also Thank you so much for such a great reminder and for sharing your own stories too. Thank you for linking up with #TuneInThursday this last week. I hope to see you again this Thursday at the linkup.
Hi Debbie! Thank you for reading and for hosting the link-up. I appreciate you!
Valerie,
I love the wisdom you shared here. Staying close to Jesus requires an All IN effort on my part, and there are days when I am phoning it on. I am thankful that He is always pursuing. His grace is so amazing!
Happy Easter to ya!
Lyli
Thank you for visiting! Happy Easter!
I think the key is “with all your heart”. I have had very long season’s in my life when I felt the Lord was hiding from me. I pray, read, attend, grow, give, pray some more and …silence. Last year was one of the most difficult years of my life and I was certain the lord had led me to make a certain decision only to have that blow up in ugly style. That said, I cannot see the future or his plans for the next six months to a year. I can only continue to seek him and pray and hope that it all turns out even better than I hoped.
Thank you so much for sharing your heart here Deanna! Those seasons can sure be hard. I agree “with all your heart” are the key words. Often times the Lord directs us moment by moment so we can learn to trust Him when we can’t see the path ahead. Keep on seeking Him and I pray that God will draw close to you and show you how much He loves you. I just checked out your blog too and followed you on Pinterest. It’s nice to meet you. God bless!
Thank you! I am really hoping the blogging journey will give me a sense of accomplishment and peace as I blog about positivity and inspiration. I truly appreciate your prayers. God Bless! I have met a few wonderful people already!
Valerie, I think sometimes we just get stuck. Thanks for the reminder that God isn’t hiding from us. So much truth packed in this post, and my heart needed it. – Ona
Ona, I’m so glad this post encouraged your heart. Blessings to you!
I remember getting pulled down by undertow once. It was for just a second, but sheer terror flooded my body. One stroke forward and two backward seems about the pace I take in my spiritual pursuit also. What’s most important is that we keep on moving toward that goal, and never give up until our dying breath!
Yes, what’s most important is that we keep on moving towards God and never give up our pursuit of Him. Amen to that!
Much needed post for me today! Our pride and selfishness is always a prime target when we feel distant from our Lord! Thank you!
Many blessings this precious Easter season!
Jenny
Jenny, I’m so glad it encouraged you! Have a blessed Easter!
Keep seeking. That’s it, isn’t it?! His promises are sure and give me an overwhelming desire to just keep seeking – to know and love Him more and more. Beautiful post, Valerie! <3
Yes, isn’t it amazing that once we start seeking Him we just want more and more? And we want more not because He hasn’t filled us but because we discover He’s the only One who can!
What an encouraging word, Valerie!
Don’t you love how we can draw close to the Father and know that He will draw close to us!
Sure do appreciate you~
Blessings,
Melanie
It sure is a comforting promise!