Drifting

It’s easy to drift away from God. Things happen, like homework and boyfriends and girl friends and parents.

Suddenly you wake up one day and realize God just isn’t there. You’ve been going through the motions of going to church or praying or reading the Bible, but you don’t feel God, He’s not there with you, He doesn’t speak to you. And you haven’t heard from Him in a long time.

Maybe you don’t really feel like getting back with God. You’ve done okay without Him for a while, so what’s the point? Or maybe He hasn’t come through for you in other things, and you’re feeling a bit resentful.

Obviously this post isn’t going to mean anything to you unless you think there really is something that might be wrong in the fact you don’t feel close to God anymore. You know it’s a hole in your life, but you just can’t muster up the energy or the desire to go seeking Him.

Here’s a thought for you to cling to: Even if you’ve drifted from God, He has never left you.

Write it on your bookbag, tape it to your computer monitor. God has never left you alone.

But what do you do now?

Go back to the Word. Yeah, it might seem dumb since you might have been reading the Bible for months now and God hasn’t spoken to you at all. But just try it.

Take a lesson from the monks—try lectio divina. I’m going through this book right now and it’s really surprising. God really does speak when we just shut up.

(You don’t have to use that book, there are lots of others if you search Amazon or Christianbook.com)

Pray first. Just a short prayer. Try to open your heart to God.

Then, take a passage from the Bible—maybe a Psalm. Read it through once, slowly. Read it through again, slowly. Read it through a third time, slowly.

Each time you read, open your heart to what God might want to have jump out at you. Study the words, see nuances and meanings. Really observe the text and keep an eye out for what seems to strike you, or just nudge you.

Then close your eyes and sit in silence. Try not to babble in your head. Just be still. Don’t let your mind wander, try to focus on what you’ve just read.

Sometimes your thoughts will drift to things that convict you. Sometimes you’ll hear God speaking to you. Sometimes you’ll just feel a gentle presence. Sometimes you won’t feel anything at all except maybe peace and a sense of rest.

A restored relationship with God takes time. Work at it. Keep striving for Him. He promised that if we search for Him with all our hearts, we’d find Him. Hold Him to that, and keep searching.