When God seems far away

Book by: David Bowden

Written by: Lynne Wood

When God Isn't

There is an interesting book written by David Bowden. David is a spoken word poet, author and preacher. He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and son.

In the book he talks about when God is farther than you think, but closer than you dare imagine. When David was in college, he felt very alone; it was as if God was nowhere to be found. When he went to church or picked up a Bible to read, there was nothing. After quite awhile, it slowly seemed to pass and he just concentrated on finishing school. I would imagine, like David, people at different times in their life have felt the same way, wondering why God felt so far away.

David never forgot his time in school when God felt like He wasn't there. So after college, he became quite interested again in God's presence and absence. He started to study to find out all he could from the Bible about God's absence.

We find that God, who seems far away from us, can move when He wants to, but chooses to come close to us in the person of Jesus. If God feels absent or distant from you, perhaps He is using His absence to get you to chase after Him, to pursue Him more.

When we are away from someone we love, we are constantly thinking about them; that's what God wants from us.

God wants us to be always thinking about Him and drawing closer to Him. The more we come to love God, the more we long to be present with Him. This is part of one of

David's poems that I think is very true. If God had never been absent, we would have never known Christ on His Cross. So though our separation feels like the highest cost Not knowing Jesus' sacrifice would be the only real loss.

Prophecy said He will be called Immanuel means "God with us." He was Jesus but also Immanuel. God is not absent, He's not just near us or passing by, God became flesh; God is with us in the person of Jesus Christ.

This book will encourage people who feel God has abandoned them and will wake people up who take God's presence for granted. It will also help you have a better understanding of why God seems to disappear and how He can easily be found.

John 1:1-2

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God."