When God Feels Far: What If He's Closer Than Ever?

Do you remember the moment you first became a Christian? The presence of God likely felt tangible, overwhelming, even exhilarating. But did that feeling last? Or did you, at some point, wonder where God’s presence had gone? Do you long to experience it again?

If so, you’re not alone.

Great Christian thinkers like Bernard of Clairvaux and St. John of the Cross wrestled with this very experience. They even gave it names. The felt presence of God is called Consolation. As Professor John Coe explains, “Consolation, for the ‘beginner,’ is often a filling of the Spirit ahead of one’s character, meant to encourage faith and reinforce the practice of spiritual disciplines.”[1]

Simply put, Consolation comes with an undeniable sense of God’s presence. But does it have to fade the way it sometimes feels?

This is where the term Desolation comes in. It includes multiple facets:

1. It may be the sign of God withdrawing “infant consolation” and is according to the person’s actual character.

2. This experience acts as a mirror to show the reality of one’s heart, one’s true motivations.

3. This is not a withdrawing of the presence of the Spirit but rather the Spirit drawing near in truth apart from feeling, to show the person the true state of some of the vice-elements of the character, of how the person is not truly filled with the Spirit in those places of the heart, and how they need to more deeply depend on God.[2]

There’s much more to unpack here (watch the podcast episode tomorrow for more!), but here’s the key takeaway: God’s “absence” is not absence at all. He is always present—He’s simply calling you to a deeper level of maturity and faith.

[1] John Coe, “Spiritual Theology: A Theological-Experiential Methodology For Bridging The Sanctification Gap,” Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2009): 40.

[2] Taken directly by John Coe.