A few years ago, Pew Research did a survey to find out what Americans mean when they say they believe in God. Although they found that a majority of people (56% to be exact) said they believe in God as described in the Bible, only 28% said they talk to God and that God talks to them, while almost twice as many (47%) said they talk to God but that God does not talk to them.1 The thing about statistics is that they always portray numerically what many of us already know experientially. And these statistics are no exception. So many of us say we believe in God, we affirm his existence, we trust what Scripture tells us about him, and yet, we still find ourselves feeling disconnected from him.
Our lives are complicated and, too often, chaotic. We’re daughters, sisters, mothers, friends, wives. We’re students, teachers, lawyers, artists, politicians, doctors, CEOs. Our day-to-day lives pull us in what feels like a hundred different directions, from late nights at the office, to weekends spent chauffeuring kids, to trying our best to be the world’s greatest aunt/boss/sister/girlfriend. Even so, the world continues to turn, rolling out so many hashtags, campaigns, social causes, cries for justice, we can hardly keep up. And while we do our best to manage our hundred-miles-an-hour lives, so many of us do so looking forward to the rest we hope we’ll find at the other side of one more deadline or promotion, one more bake sale or booster club meeting, one more blind date or pound lost.
This is, after all, what it means to live in the twenty-first century, or so we tell ourselves. And while that may be true, our longing for rest, our longing for stability, for something we can depend on, someone we can trust, is as old as time. So, we do what so many Christians have done before us. We pray. We reach out to God—the God we believe in, the God of the Bible—only to find ourselves on the wrong end of a statistic, on one end of what can feel like a chasm of universal proportions.
It’s one of the ironies of life that it’s in the midst of the hard moments, when we feel most disconnected from God, that we’re led to ask the deep questions of faith. Questions like, “Are you there, God? Are you working in the world? Do you keep your word?” The same questions that have been asked by countless generations before us.
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to unpack these questions as we study the covenants we find in Scripture. And as we look at how God has worked in the world and in the lives of his people, we’ll be reminded once again that not only is God there, but more importantly, he is here—with us, always present and always working in our world and in our lives.
1 “When Americans Say They Believe In God, What Do They Mean?,” Pew Research Center, Pew Research,April 23, 2018, https://www.pewforum.org/2018/04/25/when-americans-say-they-believe-in-god-what-do-they-mean/04-25-18_beliefingod-00-00/.
Relationships and health. I am actively trying to bring God into and making him the focus on some relationships that came when I married my husband. Coparenting has been difficult and I believe the main reason is because it has been a lot of US trying to fix and control and not allowing GOD to fix and control and the same goes for my health. Less me…more God.
Work – I feel insecure and discouraged in my current career/role and I would like guidance to find something I feel passionate about and engaged in.
No. No.
I lost my little brother this year and I am questioning God. Why does God allow pain and loss and then we are supposed to turn to him in that pain? I feel like I’m being gas lit by God.
In the area of parenting. I feel helpless and hopeless at times when my son throws tantrums and says hurtful things. In those moments, I feel impatient, defeated, and frustrated, fearing that he will grow up to be a rebellious person and reject God. I often forget that God is with me in those moments of frustration and hopelessness.
I feel connected with God always. When I am acting out or being inpatient I need to remind myself that I am not alone. He is right here. He has NEVER let me down. Be thankful for all the times He brought me out of things in the past. Remind myself it’s only temporary and this too will pass.
l have been having these satanic attacks l take out my Bible but l am so busy things that don’t make sense by the time l want to start l am again distracted l don’t know what to think anymore and l just feel defeated and jus t give up
I feel most disconnected from God in my family relationships right now. Chaotic sums up our home life to a T right now. Raising 2 teenagers and a preteen, this season of life is hard and I need to make a change. I need God to desperately show up in my home and restore my marriage, and relationship with my teen daughter in particular.
This questions is like an onion and has layers.
1)Sometimes the feeling of disconnect is (to be honest) my sin. It maybe an area that I’m struggling with and I have created that barrier.
2)BUT,(and this I dont think is talked about enough)…Feelings are not always facts!!! Satan manipulates our feelings to separate us from God. Satan will tells us things (and then we feel things) that simply are not true! As humans one of our weaknesses especially as women are our feelings. Remember feelings are not always facts!
3)I genuinely and desperately need God to show up in every area of my life everyday!
God Bless and keep you all ladies
I get frustrated easily with my family members. I say things I shouldn’t say and regret them later.