7 Honest Reasons You Might Be Feeling Far from God (and How to Come Back)

Do you want to know what are some honest reasons you might be feeling far from God? Here are some you might relate to and what the bible teaches us to do to come back.

The truth is we love God, we have every desire and longing to have deep relationship with Him. Whether it’s married life, motherhood, or work our we find ourselves so immersed in it and somehow we’re not as close. Not close at all, in fact, we feel ‘far away’. We all hate that feeling, the ache of distance in these busy seasons.

But the truth is we’re not alone. Our Heavenly Father is much closer than we think.

This post will dive in some honest and freeing reasons you may be feeling far from God and practical ways you can come back.

Reasons You May Be Feeling Far from God

1. You’re Spiritually Exhausted, Not Lazy

Take some time to reflect on your day, week, and month. You have probably been in a state of constantly giving. You’re feeding babies, maintaining your home, getting those hours in, and you’re trying your best to be a good wife…all while neglecting your own soul. 

I know the guilt trip we can take when we don’t get to spend time with God after a long sleepless night or an exhausting day of going and going, it’s the last we think of. And when we do, we feel so bad for not having the brainspace and energy to be still and intentional. 

You’re not lazy, you’re spiritually drained. 

Give yourself grace, daughter. God knows you desire to be with Him. In busy seasons, a simple adjustment can help you reconnect. Here are some practicals: 

• Redefine Quiet Time with Jesus: You’re quiet time will not look like it used to. (I used to spend hours in my bible and in God’s Presence at one sitting when I was single!) Don’t get me wrong this can still fit into your schedule with super intentionality, but for now try let’s start with small pauses. 5-minute undisturbed pauses with Jesus throughout your morning, afternoon, and evening. This means while the kids are asleep or you’re on a break at work be still with Him. Acknowledge His Presence, breathe it in, and just be present. If a bible verse pops in your head, read it and meditate on it with God. 

• Invite God into your everyday rhythms: God is with you. When we learn to pause and be still, we become more aware of His Presence with us everywhere. We learn to host His Presence in our lives. That looks like talking to Him while we’re dishwashing or rocking babies, worshipping while driving, or simply having an attitude of gratitude and praise. We must change our perspective.  The truth is we are never alone, so we might as well acknowledge the One who is with us. 

• Pray this often: “Lord, meet me in the middle of this mess.” :I prayed this over and over again after having my first baby. I’m sure there were tears rolling down my face for some of these moments and it took my faith to rise for me to see a breakthrough in my soul. You cannot do this alone, literally, you will burn out if we don’t rely on our Abba Father to give you the strength and vision you need for yourself and your family. God wants to deliver you and set your feet on a high place. Call out to Him and allow Him to comfort you. He’s the only one that can bring true rest and peace to you.

2. You’re Numbing Instead of Nurturing

Raise your hand if you’ve done this after a hard day: endless scrolling to escape or binge-watching instead of engaging to emotionally check out. (All of our hands should be up lol.) This is a protective mechanism we’ve built up to help numb the strain of our stress and busyness. 

My biggest breakthrough moment  is when I finally started asking myself, “what am I trying to avoid that God actually wants to heal?” Because after a couple hours of dopamine rushes to my brain after scrolling, I still felt burnt out. I still felt the ache of feeling alone. I needed God to nurture my soul. 

Here are some practical ways to nurture your soul instead of numbing it: 

• Fasting from Social media or entertainment: Never underestimate the power of fasting. This is such a powerful tool the bible shows us to starve our flesh and refocus on Jesus. Simple way to start is fasting in increments. One of my favorite ways to do this is to avoid scrolling in the morning hours. Doing this in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day, I noticed I reached for my phone less throughout the day. But if you want to get serious about this, fast for 1-3 days. When you have the desire to numb, replace that with a simple prayer of healing and speaking life. Which leads us to our next point. 

• Replace Scroll with Stillness and Worship: This seems like a given, but be intentional with setting yourself up for this by scheduling your daily pauses out throughout your day. – Ex. 1:30PM- Baby’s nap- Quiet time with Jesus or Lunch Break- Read 2 Chapters of Psalms. *Bonus: have your bible open on the table. When I find a couple minutes of silence, I like to read a chapter or two. Sometimes the Holy Spirit drops a scripture in my heart, so having your bible accessible helps me not forget to read it. 

• Have a Spotify or Youtube playlist setup with your favorite praise and worship songs ready to play. This helps create an atmosphere of worship in your home or workspace. I’ve noticed it helps me be intentional about connecting with Jesus throughout my tasks. If songs with words are distracting, then songs with just pads or instruments might be great for you. I will say there are times when silence is exactly what you need to reconnect, don’t be afraid to just sit in stillness with NOTHING on. It might seem scary at first because your thoughts might be screaming at you, but God always responds to a quiet and still heart. 

3. You’ve Been Hurt or Disappointed (by people or by God)

One major symptom of hurt or disappointment is withdrawal from prayer and community. Flight is a defensive mechanism we all lean into when we’re in pain. There have been times when I didn’t know I was hurt until I noticed I was avoiding my quiet time with Jesus. I instinctively did not want to confront the issue. This might be you too. 

As women, we have many unspoken expectations on how we believe things should work out. We expect the schedule to line up, we expect productivity and growth, or expect people to simply just cooperate and play nice. But the truth is people will be people and God’s ways are always superior to ours. We get hurt and we get disappointed. So how do we deal with this? 

• Name the hurt in God’s Presence: God is our Abba Father. We must be vulnerable and transparent about everything before Him. The bible teaches us to lay down our burdens at the feet of Jesus. That means the things that hurt or disappoint us, we have to give it to Him. This starts by doing some soul searching and telling God what has hurt us. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have finally mustered up the courage to name my hurt before Him. If it’s been an offense towards another person, God help me love and forgive. If my feelings were wounded, He touched me with His healing hand. If I’ve been disappointed by unexpected events, He gives me the confidence to trust I’m in His perfect Will. Be courageous and name your hurt before Him. 

• Pray a Brave Prayer, “God I’m hurt, but I want You again.” Not only should we bring our burden to God, but we must also yearn to be back in His Presence. Returning to our first love, as the bible instructs us, brings us back to perfect peace and contentment. This is the beautiful exchange: we lay our hurt down to be met with a loving and accepting Father. 

• Start the Journey to Healing: Some situations might take more than one encounter with God to help heal. Some practicals are to find a safe friend or church leader you trust and share with them where you are can help keep your focus on God. Start a journal and write down every encounter or breakthrough moment of this journey. In times when you don’t feel you’ve made progress, reflecting on your notes can bring a refocus and encouragement to keep pressing on. Also, be encouraged that this will one day be an amazing testimony you can share of God’s goodness towards you! 

4. You’ve Lost Your Identity in the Roles You Carry

Are you feeling invisible? Do you think of yourself as just “mom” or “wife” or “employee”? To commonly, women are finding identity in what they do and not what they are. Let me remind you today that you are a daughter of God, wonderfully and fearfully made, totally redeemed and set free from sin, and set apart for His own glory. That’s who you are. So your role as a mother, wife, and employee must be operated from the identity of DAUGHTER. This takes personal revelation that comes from spending time with the one who calls you daughter. 

Here are some steps you can do today to remind you of your God-given identity.

• Revisit who God says you are: I would be bold enough to say, you must receive this revelation daily!  Pausing and listening to the Holy Spirit’s still small voice reminds us of why we even get to call on God as Abba (means father). He’s constantly speaking about identity and victory in His Word, we must tap into it everyday. This will keep you grounded and confident throughout our day. Instead of obsessing over your weaknesses or shortcomings, lean into meditating on this truth about yourself. 

• Declare Your Identity Out Loud: Making this a practice is a game changer. God’s Word has life-giving power. The more we declare the truth, it becomes a reality to us. We start thinking and behaving like a daughter of God. So make a list of things God says you are in the bible and speak them OUT LOUD over yourself. (** I’m not talking about “manifesting” , which is a new age practice. This is a biblical practice, see Job 22:28,Psalms 118:17, Proverbs 18:21.)
  • Here’s an example: When I was struggling with fear and anxiousness over work , I began declaring this over me. I am anointed for my work (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) and  I was made for such a time as this. I am an overcomer through Jesus (Romans 8:37). I am not fearful or anxious, but I am confident, brave, and courageous (Psalms 27:13-14.) 

5. You’ve Replaced Intimacy with Routine

I remember when I was in a really busy season, somehow, I managed to carve out “quiet time” with God. I’d sit down, read a couple of chapters, maybe put on a worship song, say a quick prayer… and then move on. I checked the box.

But the truth? My time with Him felt hollow. I was still short-tempered, anxious, and easily overwhelmed. I realized I was spending time with Jesus more out of duty than delight. It had become a spiritual routine, really no different than brushing my teeth or making coffee. It was necessary, but not intimate.

This reminded me of when my husband comes home from work. I usually greet him with a hug, ask about his day, and make sure the atmosphere feels like a soft place to land. But imagine if I did all those things without any warmth. No eye contact, no real smile, just going through the motions. He would feel it. The relationship would strain, not because I wasn’t doing the right things, but because my heart wasn’t really in it.

The same thing can happen with God. We show up, but we don’t connect. And He’s not after our performance, He’s after our presence.

Here are some simple changes you can make today to bring back the fire of intimacy in your relationship with God. 

• Change How to Spend Your First 3 Minutes in the Morning:What would days look like if we started our first three minutes awake acknowledging His presence before ANYTHING else. A simple prayer like “Good morning Holy Spirit, I’m so thankful you’re here with me.” This isn’t a prayer to conjure God’s spirit in the room but to acknowledge His Presence is already with us.  

• Speak to God Directly instead of Just about Him: Jesus is not distant or hard to reach. He’s here, right now, fully present in the room with us. Just like you’d talk to a close friend sitting across the table, you can speak directly and freely to Him. And I’m not talking about using fancy “Oh thou, Lord” language (lol). I mean real, honest, humble conversation right in the middle of diaper changes, traffic, or quiet morning moments. Too often, we tell our friends or family that we’re “trusting God” or “hoping He’ll come through,” but we haven’t even brought it to God first. We’re talking about Him instead of Him. Let’s not overcomplicate it. Let’s not make it weird. Jesus is near. So let’s boldly talk to Him—face to face, heart to heart. And that leads us perfectly into the next point…

• Make your Mundane a Meeting Place: Be intentional about finding moments in the day-to-day tasks to encounter Jesus. Redefine how you see nap times, folding laundry, or driving to work as places to have meaningful conversation with Him. Intimacy is birthed from small connections over and over again. So let’s be faithful in these small meeting moments!

6. You’re Spiritually Isolated

solation is a subtle trap that comes by avoiding H.O.T (honest, open, and transparent) conversations with people around us. Accountability and community is so vital for a healthy relationship with Jesus. 

If we negelate this important value in our lives it can lead to hopelessness and coldness towards God and people. 

Signs you are spiritually isolated are: avoiding community (socializing), battling things alone, and not having a healthy community of friends checking in on you often (especially during difficult times.) Here are some things you can do to become surrounded by a healthy community: 

• Join (or start!) a small circle: Gather a few ladies from your church, your kids school, or make new friends in your neighborhood and take time to have genuine community. Center it around values like no complaining, reading the bible, having

• Let someone in: This simple step could be what helps you breakthrough feeling distant from God. ** Please consider who you bring into your walk. I’d suggest “go up”, start with a spiritual leader like a pastor or a more experienced individual who you know has overcome a similar season like the one you’re in. Just a simple text like, “I’m struggling. Can we meet up?” can go a long way. 

• Remember, God uses people to minister to us: I have felt shame or embarrassment when I was struggling connecting with God (not to mention I was on staff at the church) and telling my leaders. But thankfully, God didn’t let up. He used my amazing leaders to help bring clarity and hope to my situation. It was their care and discipleship that helped me reconnect with God again. Don’t hesitate to reach up to people you trust. If you don’t have anyone, ask the Lord to highlight someone to you. 

7. You’ve Stopped Believing You’re Worth God’s Attention

Let’s settle this. You don’t have to fight for God’s attention. You don’t deserve it by good behavior and there’s nothing we can do to earn it. The word says God makes His face shine upon you (Num 6:24-25.) The Psalmist said in Psalms 139:8, “if I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold You are there.” No matter if you feel you’re high on a mountain or low in a valley season, your Father in Heaven is giving you all His attention. 

If you have thought, “others hear from God, not me,” or “I don’t matter.” Those are lies straight up from hell. You are loved by Him so much that He gave up what He loved most, His Son. So daughter, please know you are worth 1000% of God’s love and affection. 

Here are some practicals to daily remind yourself you are worth God’s attention:

• Read Luke 15: This chapter is full of parables Jesus told to illustrate His Father’s profound love and pursuit of the lost. We were once lost. Reflecting and meditating on the simple gospel, reminds us of how God actively pursued us to get saved. But He doesn’t just stop there, He saved you for eternal relationship! How beautiful and great is His love for you! 

• Declare over yourself, “I am worth pursuing.”: If you have been bombarded by the lies that you don’t deserve God’s attention, we must combat that by releasing and declaring the truth. I challenge you to declare this truth over yourself consistently and watch your mindset begin to change and reflect what God really thinks about you. 

•  Start a Gratitude Journal: Feeling unworthy of God’s attention is us being misaligned with the truth. When we have the right perspective, we can step into our rightful identity as daughters. Having a thankful and grateful heart reinforces our belief that God has been and is with us everyday. You’ll begin to see God in everything! 

---

Feeling distant from God is so real and more common than you think. Just be assured that these seasons are always temporary and you are not alone in this.

I encourage you to pick just one or two reasons from the list and one practical step to dive into this week. Come in humbly and expectant for God to meet you. James 4:8 (NKJV) tells us to “draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” He’s waiting for you, will you come? 

This post was all about the honest reasons you might be feeling far from God and how to come back.