All relationships can be difficult at times, but they should not be destructive to our well-being. Learn the difference between a destructive pattern and a difficult season with this free resource, “Is This Normal? 15 Red Flags You May Be Missing in Your Relationships.”

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If God is Near, Why Does He Feel So Far Away?

November 22, 2016

There is a desperate cry within my heart that I’ve longed with every fiber of my being to see come to pass. Minutes have turned into days and weeks and years of learning to make some sort of spiritual peace. On my good days I stand assured, “It’s just not God’s timing yet.”

But on my less stellar days I crumble, afraid and hurt, “God, why? You know how much this ache in my heart steals a piece of too many of my smiles. Quite honestly, I’m tired of wondering if you’re withholding because I’m not good enough, capable enough, spiritual enough, trusting enough, or mature enough. I guess I’m really tired of hoping.”

And I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way.

What is that relationship, that insecurity, that hurt, that desire, that prayer you’ve brought to God countless times?

In my own pain, I’ve learned that Jesus not only cares about our deep, spiritual wrestling, but He wants to step in and see us through it.

That’s why I wrote my new Bible study, Finding I AM: How Jesus Fully Satisfies the Cry of Your Heart. Through this interactive, in-depth study, you will learn to:

· Trade feelings of emptiness and depletion for a more personal fulfillment from knowing who Jesus is.
· Stop living like a slave to your circumstances by training your heart to embrace the life-giving freedom God wants for you.
· Gain a better understanding of how Jesus’ words 2,000 years ago are so very applicable to the answers we are searching for today.

If you’re new to Bible studies, this is the place to start. If you’ve studied the Bible for years, it’s time to travel to the Holy Land via video and see the truth of Jesus come to life like never before.

Finding I AM doesn’t release until January but if you pre-order today you’ll get all kinds of free resources to help you along the journey!

You can pre-order by clicking here.

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15 Comments
  1. Joni Wolf

    In the late summer of 2013 I read What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. In reading it the Holy Spirit stirred a yearning in me to want more and so I prayed, “Lord I want more of You”. Over the next few weeks I transitioned from being a contented believer to wanting to become an obedient follower. Your penned words were used to prepare me for a big assignment that God knew would be difficult for me to accept: a call into a traveling quilt ministry. I tell this story about reading your book and the change that it brought every time I speak. I cannot wait to see what more I can learn from you in Finding I AM.

    Thank you, Lysa

    Reply
  2. Sylvia

    I am so excited about this study! I am have done many Proverbs 31 studies. I struggle with my chronic pain and wishing it would have gone away when it started nine years ago. Thanks Lysa for this book and the hope!

    Blessings,
    Sylvia:-)

    Reply
  3. Donna

    I loved your book Uninvited. I have been getting the devotionals and doing the First 5 app for a few months now, and when I saw the “ad” about Tricia…I have been down the same path and to be honest I still feel the same way on so many levels. I am still struggling and as I sit here writting this I have to ask if it is all worth it? How am I supposed to get through this all? I know this is probably not the place to be posting this but I am hurting in the worst way right now and I didn’t know what else to do…

    Reply
    • Kerri

      I will keep you in my prayers. I know the feeling.

      Reply
      • Tosha

        I’m struggling to with a lot of hurt and pain it’s hard but please don’t give up on hope God loves you and he will see you threw😇😇😇

        Reply
  4. Crissy

    I was devestated of the news that my son 45yrs old suddenly died in his sleep. How hard it is to loose a child at any age for your kids will always be your babies! I am torn. But i am held together by my comforter…Jesus said all who are heavy laden come unto me and rest. Sometimes life can throw really big punches..enough to knock the air out of you and then some. How do you rest when your mind and heart hurts like a blister from a hot stove? Oh but there is power in the word in His power I stand and dont crumble under the circumstances life can throw at me. Last year doctors said i had cancer this year i lost my only son. When i was 16 i lost my dad then my husband of 30 years! How much more can i take. Oh but Jesus is real. His love for me is real and at night i look toward heaven broken hearted and he fills me with peace that passes understanding i cant explain. Tears roll off my cheeks writing this because i know my redeemer lives and i shall see my loved ones again and my saviour most of all!!

    Reply
  5. Nmarkwe Jennifer

    I have not read any of your books yet but I use Inspiring Women Everyday Daily Devotional (Encouragement for today) online and its been more than a blessing. I am in Nigeria, Africa and I dont know how to access your books. I would prefer e-books.

    Thanks, Lysa

    Reply
  6. Jennifer Dougan

    Merry Christmas, Lysa to you and your family. I like the idea of a Bible study with on-site video in Israel.

    I have always enjoyed your voice and stories and heart for Jesus whenever I heard you teach. Thank you. And as an MK from Liberia, your connection there warms my heart too.

    Warmly from one words-lover girl to another, humbly,
    Jennifer Dougan
    http://www.jenniferdougan.com

    Reply
  7. Jen Griffin

    HI Lysa,
    Our small group is currently reading Uninvited and we love it. Thank you for being so real, honest, and right there with us. It seems you can read our mind at times. We truly appreciate your studies. We also did Unglued not too long ago. Merry Christmas! Please know you are making it shine brighter here in Western NY. Thank you for you do and for Proverbs 31. Truly a blessing.
    Jen

    Reply
  8. Lynda Bishop

    Lysa
    If we cannot able to afford the DVD set for the I AM
    Bible study, would we still be able to do the lessons with the study guide alone?
    Thank you Lysa-
    Blessings,
    Lynda

    Reply
  9. Margaret

    My Bible Study group just completed our study of Philippians. This is a very practical reminder of what we studied. Thank you

    Reply
  10. Marianne

    Thank you Lysa , Reading this devotion this morning helped me understand why and how I have always gotten through difficult times, I have always tried to find the best in the situation, my father died when I was 15 and even though it was devastating to me, I remember being grateful that I was old enough to have known my dad, and that he was a good Dad. When at 21 my best friends parents remarried and divorced ,and divorced each other for a second time, I remember being grateful that even though my Dad was in Heaven , that I knew he loved my Mom and his daughters. There are countless times in my life that things haven’t been good, and I have always looked for the good in it. I have read Phillipians 4:8 many times, but never realized that was exactly what I put in to practice when I go through trials! Thank you !

    Reply
  11. Heidi Kelly

    This will be my first Proverbs 31. I am struggling to with “why” did we lose my 20-year old nephew to leukemia 9-months ago. We prayed, we believed, we stood on the Word…and in the end Caleb still went home to be with Jesus…I know where he is, but my heart hurts so badly…..

    Reply
  12. Lisa Mackres

    December 26, 2016

    Although I’m interested in learning more information regarding your books- especially “Finding I Am”, I’m much more comfortable searching for that particular book in a book-store as opposed to ordering it on-line. It’s true that my technological skills are improving, yet I still prefer obtaining books and reading them “the old-fashioned way”. Even so, I can see the benefit of going completely digital- I have all of the books that I want. Anyway, thank you for your encouraging words; I truly appreciate them.

    Lisa Mackres
    Massachusetts

    Reply
  13. Nom Johnson

    Looked up this site for my first time today, after briefly hearing of Proverbs 31. Up here in Toronto, Canada, you’re not often spoken of or referred to. I’m glad to have stumbled across this study, as Jesus and His “I AM” statements have been calling my name this last short while. In particular, His “I am the resurrection and the life” as my life, sadly, has been through a lengthy period of profound death, brokenness, and worse.
    I have known and loved God (the Father), muchly in the past, even though that’s subdued in the present.
    I look forward, with hope, to discovering much more of God (the Son) and to getting to do that in community with others. (I’ve signed up for the on-line bible study. Looks like a great forum and tool!)
    ps – perchance I get to be one of your random gift recipients, know that that would be such a blessing/help. The price of shipping your book to Canada, along with high USD conversion rates, equals – yikes!

    Reply
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