When God is Distant, Do This.
Some people feel like they are in a spiritual holding pattern.
They can’t move forward but they don’t want to go backward. They feel they have entered into a dry season. They are constantly waiting, even when their spirit wants to move forward. This is when we should press in.
There is a time of separation. This separation has purpose. God is waiting to see if you are going to take a step closer to Him. Step closer. At first, we may not understand this change. Then God may say, “Step up a little bit higher. I’m doing something new in you.” He is preparing to do something new. That’s why this change comes.
Sometimes a person’s mind is infested with too many other things. They aren’t necessarily sinful things. There can some- times be things that clutter our mind and life. These are things that aren’t part of what the Lord is doing. They don’t fit His plan or purpose for our life. We need to cleanse our lives from things that don’t serve God before we can move forward.
Even Moses backed into a crevice in that rock (Exodus 33:22). He backed in. Then he saw God’s glory. We don’t want to say the word “backslide,” because that isn’t what is happening. You will feel a whole lot of things. You will feel all of that mixture coming out of you. You will feel the crooked becoming straight and the limitations going higher.
Over time, there will be less and less of you and more and more of Him and what He wants to do in your life. You will have to forget what you know. Don’t worry. It’s still there. It’s laid in the foundation.
Here is the dynamic that is at work. You aren’t going backward, but you aren’t yet moving forward. You are simply standing still and seeing the goodness of God in your life. While you wait, you are to be cleansing and preparing. God is always there. When He isn’t talking, He is showing you that He is doing something new. There are times when God will be silent. Sometimes He’s very silent. People need to know this because some people think there is something wrong when they don’t hear anything.
God’s silence isn’t an indicator that something is wrong, but we do want to hear His voice and feel that comfort in Him. He will step back so that you can come into a new realm. He does this to see if you will cause yourself to move into it.
It’s effortless, but the heart cries out. God is more concerned with our character than our comfort. So get hungry and desperate and things will suddenly happen. The glory will overwhelm you. It’s always new, again and again.
In the glory, angels come to visit you as God begins to move in your life. The area around you lights up. In Heaven, people who are lit up can be seen. Angels go back and forth, ministering to them. God is getting them ready for their next phase. Demons can also see those who are lit up. Evil spirits will try to hinder you because they can see that God is moving in your life. They can see the preparation.
This should encourage those who feel they are being hindered or are going backward. Remember that Jesus set His face like flint for Jerusalem. That was His mission. We need that tenacity of knowing our mission and sticking it out. Every great man and woman of God has these characteristics. They have bulldog faith. They are tenacious.
If we change our perspective, it can almost seem like fun when hardship comes. Hardship is a sure sign that breakthrough is coming. For those who are going through something now and you feel like you are going backward, the Lord is telling you, “This is a sign that you are about to break through and have overthrow in your life.” The angels will come to minister to you because you are about to be promoted. There are times when the glory departs. You can’t seem to hear God’s voice. If that happens, then repent, fast, and pray. Go back to the place where you disobeyed or last felt the glory.
Go back to the table where you were being fed. You don’t have to physically go back. Just go back there in your heart and meditate on what was going on there. Revisit what the Lord asked you to do, and then do it. If you do, you will begin to hear His voice again and perhaps even more strongly. You will find that what happened was that the cloud went one way and you went another. In the wilderness, the pillar of fire went one way and the people went another way.
So the solution for you is to return to the last place you heard God speak. Ask Him to forgive you for disobeying. Whenever this occurs, you will find that you were disobedient. The Lord doesn’t just excuse you. If He asks you to do something, it is because the pillar of fire is leading you that way. Stay with the glory cloud. Stay with the pillar of fire. Wherever God goes, just stay in the fire.
You are actually tied to the body of Christ in an intricate way. When you are disobedient, it hurts everyone else. It’s the same way with the cloud. When the cloud moves, you have to move with it. You may not know it, but if you don’t move with it, you are actually robbing other people.
