What do I do if I’m far from God?

SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTION:

What do I do if I’m far from God?

MY ANSWER:

Assuming you have received and trust in the gospel of Christ: that Jesus died for your sins and was raised again for your justification, then the following scriptures will increase your relationship with God.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

In order to come to God, to grow in Him, to trust Him, and to fall in love with Him, you have to come in FAITH. You do not form a relationship with God in your flesh. God is not a human and a relationship with Him does not work on a human level with touch and feelings and emotions. You cannot see God and be swept off your feet by His charming looks. The only way you can connect with God is through FAITH; believing that He is, and diligently seeking Him. Colossians tells us that as we initially received Christ, in like manner we must walk in Him,

Col.2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.

We received the gospel by believing it. Similarly, we walk in Him, and with Him, by faith also. So, the question is, how do we get FAITH? Well, there is ONLY ONE way!!! There is ONLY ONE source that increases faith. The word of God. It tells us,

Rom.10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

When the verse above says ‘hearing’ is more than just the physical act of listening. It encompasses understanding and accepting the message of God's word. You comprehend the truths and principles conveyed in the word, then believe and internalize its truth, allowing it to influence and transform your life. Simply put, it involves study. Spending time in the word and allowing it to renew your mind and change your heart, your thoughts, your speech, and the actions you take. Friend, THIS IS WHEN YOU START TO GROW CLOSER TO GOD!!!

1Pet.2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.

Rom.8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Col.1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Lastly, you cannot turn to works of the flesh to grow in God and try to please Him. The Galatians tried to please God by placing themselves under the law and trying to do the law to make themselves more acceptable to God. Well, when you read the letter, you find out that they failed miserably. Paul came down on them hard with a reprimand, saying,

Galatians 3:1-3 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? [2] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [3] Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

You can NEVER please God and grow in Him by trying to do works of the law, or good deeds, or any form of religion. Remember, you cannot have a relationship with God on the ‘human’ level! It must be by the word of God living in your soul. Only the word of God can renew your mind and bring you into a spiritual level where you can have a relationship with God. As the word of God fills you and starts to influence you, only then will it start to work itself out of you, producing the fruits of righteousness. This is when you walk in the spirit: Paul saying it like this,

Romans 6:16-18 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? [17] But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. [18] Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

You have two choices.

1. Serve the flesh leading to sin and death (not eternal death, since you are eternally justified through the cross, but functional death, being unprofitable to God), or
2. Serve obedience which leads to righteousness. (What do you obey? That form of doctrine, the word of God, working itself out of you through your knowledge and obedience to it).

That is the freedom of the Spirit. You end up walking in God’s ways, not by your own strength, not by your own willpower or mental ascent, not by human commitment or discipline. No, that is bondage and hard! The freedom of the Spirit it letting go and letting the word of God work itself out of you, naturally, under a compulsion of love and willingness, because of your relationship and thankfulness to God. There is nothing more natural and rewarding, BUT, you must spend time in the word of God and get it into your head and into your heart. It's the power of the word that makes you walk in the Spirit and live in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:1-4 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. …. [4] Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Paul says,

Gal.5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

If you are far from God, it is because you are living in the flesh. My advice is to get into Paul’s epistles and read Romans to Galatians over and over a few times so that it sinks into your mind and starts to open your heart. When you start to see it influence your thoughts and actions, then continue in Ephesians to Thessalonians. This is the remedy that will get you walking close to God, in relationship with Him, growing you up from a babe in Christ to a son of God, mature in righteousness, godliness, judgement, and understanding. Christ in you through His word.

God bless.