WHY? Week One "WHY DON’T I ALWAYS FEEL GOD?"

WHY DON’T I ALWAYS FEEL GOD?

• IF YOU DON’T ALWAYS FEEL GOD’S PRESENCE, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Feelings are fleeting. Just as emotional love isn't enough to sustain a relationship but the deep, abiding love that comes with maturity will, your faith cannot be dictated by emotions. 

But I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 Why, O Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me? Psalm 88:13-14

WHY DON’T I ALWAYS FEEL GOD?

• MAYBE YOU ARE SENSATIONALIZING IT.

In a culture of instant gratification & an emphasis on "doing what makes us happy",  it's easy to put the responsibility for our contentment back on God.

So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” John 6:30

• MAYBE YOU’RE SIMPLY DISTRACTED.

In a hyper connected society, it's easy to live a life of constant distraction. Despite all our modern "conveniences", we're busier than ever.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. Luke 10:38-40

• MAYBE YOUR HEART HAS HARDENED.

Life is hard. Bad things happen to good people. The innocent suffer & the wicked succeed. It's easy to allow our hearts to become calloused.

You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Matthew 13:14-15

• MAYBE YOU’VE BUILT A WALL OF SIN.

Too often we like our lives & lifestyles too much to make changes. Not many like to step outside our comfort zones. 

Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. 2 But there is a problem — your sins have cut you off from God. Isaiah 59:1-2 NLT96

• MAYBE YOU DON’T KNOW GOD.

 Even the devil believes in God. Being aware of God's existence is very different from knowing Him as your personal Savior.

You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me. John 7:28-29

PRESENCE PROMISES

1)      YOU WILL FIND GOD WHEN YOU SEEK GOD.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD… Jeremiah 29:13-14

2)      YOU CAN DO LIFE WITH GOD’S PRESENCE.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. John 14:16-17 NLT96

3)      YOU CAN EXPERIENCE GOD NOW.

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:27

TALK IT OVER

•    What is keeping you from always feeling God’s presence in your life?                          

•    Share a time when you felt God’s presence in your life. How did that experience affect you?

•     What steps will you take to seek God and experience Him now?