#13 Distant

Dear Sweet Eden:

I’m so happy that you are in our family.  What a treasure.  I’m excited to see who you become.

So the premise of this book is for us to write about what the Lord has been teaching us, in the hopes of someday encouraging you and anyone else reading this.  I’m not totally sure I have something massive to say today. 

The truth is, I feel pretty distant from the Lord right now.  Feeling—that’s a scary word to use, especially knowing how quickly my emotions change. 

But the feeling remains.  How do I even quantify “feeling distant”?  Or a more helpful question: What do you do when you’re feeling distant from the Lord?

Here might be some helpful things to do:

1. Probe your heart for indwelling sin.  Confess what you find.
2. Think through your relationships and forgive anyone in your life you’re holding a grudge against.
3. Talk to the Lord about it and ask for His help.
4. Monitor what (or who) is consuming your thoughts.  What’s the first thought you had this morning?  What do you want more of in your life right now.  If the honest answers are things other than the Lord, that’s a potential red flag for an idol.
5. Surrender your heart to the Lord in a fresh way, even if you’re not feeling emotionally attached.
6. Ask for prayer from a friend.
7. Honor the Lord with your time.  Do concrete things for Him.

For now, I guess the key is to wait on the Lord.  He has me in His hands and He’s taking care of me on a level beyond feeling or comprehension.

Love you Eden!