In this episode, I talk with Kyle Strobel about what's actually happening when God feels distant. Most of us start with passion - prayer comes easy, Scripture comes alive - and then a season arrives where the lights go out and we assume we've failed or been abandoned. Kyle offers a different reading than abandonment: the dryness isn't punishment or absence, but the desert where God weans us off the feeling and teaches us to abide. We get into the moralistic temptation that follows - how we turn disciplines, service, and even devotion into ways of managing God rather than meeting him - and why we have to relearn to live by faith and not by sight.

Kyle Strobel is the director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, who writes and teaches in the area of spiritual formation. He is the author of many books, most recently the co-author of the book, When God Seems Distant: Surprising Ways God Deepens Our Faith and Draws Us Near (with John Coe). Kyle regularly speaks at conferences, church trainings, and serves on the preaching team at Redeemer Church. He can be found at KyleStrobel.substack.com.

Kyle's Book:

When God Seems Distant

Kyle's Recommendation:

A Lifting Up for the Downcast

Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.

Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube

Support the podcast and the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below

Bring meaningful conversations about home, belonging and loving your neighbor to your friends, family or small group. Download World Relief’s free conversation cards at worldrelief.org/shiftingculture.

Support the show