When God Feels Distant and We Are Uninspired

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--[ 7 MIN READ]

There is a pattern in Scripture that we would do well to recognize, because it exposes something in us that we often try to ignore. When the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt, they had witnessed the power of God in undeniable ways. They saw the plagues. They walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. They were led by a pillar of fire and cloud. And yet, not long after their deliverance, they began to murmur.

They murmured when there was no water. They murmured when there was no bread. And even when God gave them manna from heaven, they murmured again. Their problem was not that God had failed to provide. It was that they no longer felt satisfied with what He provided. In their hearts, they turned back toward Egypt, longing for what they once had, even though it was bondage.

Stephen makes this plain when he recounts their history in Acts 7:39,
“To whom our fathers would not obey [10 Commandments]… and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt”

That is the danger. A man can be physically moving forward with God, and yet inwardly drifting backward.

Now bring that forward to us.

Egypt is a picture of sin. Deliverance from Egypt is a picture of salvation. The wilderness sojourning is the life we now live, being led by God, learning to trust Him, being sustained daily by what He provides. And just like Israel, we too are fed by manna. Jesus is the true manna that came down from heaven, the Bread of Life;

“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” ~Matt 4:4

And yet, how often do we respond the same way as the Church in the wilderness?

Not always with open rebellion, but with something less obvious, but just as beguiling. We murmur. We complain inwardly. We grow dissatisfied. Not because God has stopped providing, but because we no longer feel inspired by what He has given.

We read the Word, but it feels dry.
We pray, but it feels hollow.
We obey, but it feels like effort.

And if we are not careful, we begin to interpret that lack of feeling as a lack of God.

But the wilderness was never meant to feel like Egypt.

It was never designed to satisfy the flesh. It was designed to train the heart.

God told Israel that He led them through the wilderness “to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” (Deuteronomy 8:2). The wilderness exposes whether we follow God because of what we feel, or because of who He is.

Now contrast that with Stephen.

Stephen stood in the middle of accusation, false witnesses, and violent hatred. They were enraged. They gnashed on him with their teeth. And yet Stephen, in that moment, was not in doubt. He was not dry. He was not complaining.

He was full.

“But he, being full of the Holy spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven…”

While stones were being raised against him, heaven was opened before him.

Do you see the difference?

Israel had provision and complained.
Stephen had persecution and peace.

That exposes something we must come to terms with:
The presence of God is not determined by how comfortable or inspired we feel.

Stephen did not feel “inspired” in the way we often define it. He was about to be killed. And yet he was filled with the Spirit, saw the glory of God, and even prayed for those who were murdering him.

That is not emotional inspiration. That is Spirit-formed obedience.

So when we say, “I just don’t feel like serving,” we need to understand what we are really saying. We are measuring our obedience by our feelings. And Scripture never gives us that option.

Israel waited to feel satisfied, before trusting God, and they murmured.
Stephen trusted God, and in the hardest moment of his life, he saw heaven.

The wilderness will reveal which path we choose.

Will we murmur because we do not feel stirred?
Or will we walk in obedience, trusting that God is present even when He feels silent?

Because the truth is this:

God has not stopped feeding us.
The manna is still here.
The question is whether we receive it with faith… or reject it because it no longer excites us.

And that brings us back to the heart of the matter.

Walking in the Spirit is not sustained by inspiration.
It is sustained by obedience.

And obedience does not wait for feelings. It responds to truth.

Murmuring and Complaining (Israel in the Wilderness)

Exodus 16:2–3 (LXX)
“And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron. And the children of Israel said to them, Would that we had died smitten by the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and ate bread to the full; for ye have brought us out into this wilderness to kill all this congregation with hunger.”

Exodus 17:2–3 (LXX)
“And the people murmured against Moses, saying, Give us water that we may drink… And the people thirsted there for water, and murmured against Moses, saying, Wherefore is this, that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to slay us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”

Numbers 11:1 (LXX)
“And the people murmured sinfully before the Lord: and the Lord heard it, and was angered.”

Numbers 11:4–6 (LXX)
“And the mixed multitude… lusted exceedingly… and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt freely… but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, except this manna before our eyes.”

Numbers 14:2–4 (LXX)
“And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron… and said, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt… Let us appoint a leader, and return into Egypt.”

Numbers 21:4–5 (LXX)
“And the people became discouraged… and spoke against God and against Moses, saying, Why have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.”

Deuteronomy 1:26–27 (LXX)
“But ye would not go up, but murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he has brought us forth out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.”

Psalm 78:17–22 (LXX numbering 77)
“And they sinned yet more against him… they tempted God in their hearts… Yea, they spoke against God; they said, Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?… Therefore the Lord heard, and was wroth.”

Psalm 106:24–25 (LXX numbering 105)
“They despised the pleasant land… but murmured in their tents, and hearkened not to the voice of the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 10:10 (KJV)
“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”

Philippians 2:14 (KJV)
“Do all things without murmurings and disputings.”

Turning Back in the Heart

Acts 7:39 (KJV)
“To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt.”

Psalm 95:8–10 (LXX numbering 94)
“To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation… where your fathers tempted me… Forty years long was I grieved with that generation.”

Hebrews 3:12–13 (KJV)
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief… But exhort one another daily…”

God’s Purpose in the Wilderness

Deuteronomy 8:2–3 (LXX)
“And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee… to humble thee, and to prove thee… And he humbled thee… and fed thee with manna… that he might make thee know that man shall not live by bread alone…”

Exodus 16:4 (LXX)
“That I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”

Psalm 66:10–12 (LXX numbering 65)
“For thou, O God, hast proved us… Thou hast brought us into the snare… we went through fire and water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.”

Spiritual Dryness and Silence

Psalm 13:1–2 (LXX numbering 12)
“How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me?… How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?”

Psalm 42:1–3 (LXX numbering 41)
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God… My tears have been my meat day and night…”

Amos 8:11–12 (LXX)
“I will send a famine… not a famine of bread… but of hearing the word of the Lord: and they shall wander… and shall not find it.”