What should I do when I don’t feel close to God?

Dave’s answer from Psalm 63 is to stop waiting for the feeling and act on what’s true: God is good, God is real, and God is near. David was dry and exhausted and still chose to praise, lift his hands, and cling to God. Renewal, Dave says, isn’t about trying hard but about turning toward God.

Can I trust my feelings about my faith?

Dave says feelings are real in the moment but easily manipulated, and shows how quickly a mood can flip with a light story about getting your foot stepped on and then handed a brisket. Feelings aren’t set in stone, and they don’t change who God is. When they tell you God is far away, the encouragement is to go back to what you know is true and worship anyway.

Why did Jesus go to a quiet place to pray?

Mark 1:35 says that early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, went to a solitary place, and prayed. Dave pairs this with David’s time in the desert to argue that if Jesus needed to get away, we do too, and that busyness and our phones are the usual reasons we never do. Renewal begins when we make room for it.

Does a dry season mean God has left me?

Not according to this message. Dave says dry times sometimes come from what we’ve done or left undone, but God is near either way and can use them, pointing to Romans 8:28. Dave also wonders aloud whether dryness might be God drawing us into a deeper thirst, and says that when God feels far off, it isn’t God who moved.