Reasons Why We Don’t Feel God’s Love & Presence

My heart was numb and disconnected. I didn’t believe God loved me, and much less couldn’t feel it, or His presence.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day in unbroken, unhindered communion.

Then sin came onto the scene and robbed Adam and Eve and all of mankind of God’s intent — being wholly connected to Him. 

Jesus paid the price for our sins with His shed blood and His death on the cross. His sacrifice made a way for us to be reconciled to the Father and to experience Face–to-face connection with God just as Adam and Eve did before the fall.  

To Feel God’s Love & Presence Is Your Birthright

To know God experientially – to feel His love and presence – is your birthright as a child of God.

In the Old Testament to know is the word yada and in the New Testament it’s the word ginosko – both mean to know through personal experience; to experientially know God.

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.  Isaiah 43:10 ESV

“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”  Jeremiah 31:33-34

So if the Word proves God intends we’d know Him experientially, why was my heart numb and disconnected?

I learned unresolved pain and trauma and the resulting self-protection mechanisms formed a wall around my heart. The wall caused a numbing to protect me from pain but also blocked good emotion (and connection).

The Wall And The Liquid Love

But God intervened.

In an emotional healing session, steel panels shot up one by one, and clinked together to form a wall around me. God revealed I had developed resentment toward Him which had built that wall. When I repented and released the resentment, the steel wall disappeared.

During another emotional healing session, the facilitator asked God to reveal His heart for me. Immediately, God poured His liquid love on me. The force of His love permeated every fiber of my being.

God poured out His love twice during that session and my life was forever changed. I came away no longer doubting God’s love for me. This is the love I had been looking for my whole life.   

Afterward, I could turn my heart toward Him and instantly feel His love and presence. 

More Walls?

Life and circumstances can get the best of us. We experience disappointments, more wounds surface and we discover additional lies to address. We discover more walls, or new ones form, that block us from feeling Him.

We need to process our hurts and disappointments in real time or deal with them when we become aware as I shared above.

I experienced pain and disappointment even after that powerful and profound experience with God’s love. Because I didn’t tend to my heart, another wall formed. As I processed my hurt and disappointment and walked through more healing, His “felt” presence and love returned. To read more about my seasons of disappointment and the keys I used to process them click here.  

Simple Steps to Process Emotions

Processing our emotions is critical to staying connected to the Lord, ourselves, and others. Below are some steps to help you with the process.

• Name how you’re feeling ~ pour out your emotions. Say it out loud or journal it.
• Attune to yourself. Be understanding, kind, and compassionate toward yourself with tenderness and statements such as I’m with you and I hear you.
• Validate yourself. Tend to yourself right where you are with statements such as it makes sense you feel that way or I see how you’re feeling.

I’ve had ups and downs in my relationship with the Lord. But as I’ve continued to process my emotions and walk through healing, my connection with the Lord has deepened and I consistently feel His love and presence. The same is possible for you.

For more on processing and validating your emotions, click HERE to subscribe for my free guide.