Chris Nye - Distant God: Why He Feels Far Away...And What We Can Do About It

Most of the Christian life happens not on the mountaintops or in the valleys, but in the long plains of faith. Chris Nyes Distant God helps us see the beauty in these long everyday stretches, which may feel meh but are likely where most of our growth will occur. Nyes book speaks a crucial word to our generation, reared on the authority of experience and the sovereignty of emotion: God is here even when we dont feel that He is. With the pastoral wisdom and eloquence of a young Eugene Peterson, Nye reminds us that Gods presence in our lives has more to do with obedience than feelings. A challenging, necessary call to me and my fellow millennials!

BRETT MCCRACKEN, journalist and author of Hipster Christianity and Gray Matters

Distant God is for when our faith has become frozen, and the path of discipleship seems to pass by the dark side of the moon. Author Chris Nye gently walks aside the reader, and with depth and wisdom points the way back to Christ, the divine light, which warms our God-bathed world.

MARK SAYERS, lead pastor of Red Church, and author of Facing Leviathan and Disappearing Church

It is so easy to quote Jesus words I am with you always or speak you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4), but what does that mean in real life where How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1) is a far more common experience? Chris writes brilliantly and personally to help us find and live Gods presence. Rejoining God in His presence is not an easy work, but by the power of the gospel, it is a good work for His people.

GERRY BRESHEARS, Western Seminary, Portland

The paradox is breathtaking. In a sense, God is mysteriously beyond us. Yet, God is so unbelievably near to us. Both of these appear unable to live together. But they must. As the faithful, we believe the binding that brings together Gods nearness and Gods beyondnessJesus Himself, God on a tree. While its been said God is closer to us than our next breath, we still forget to breathe. Within, Chris Nyes beautiful exploration reminds us why we even breathe at allfor a chance to behold Gods ever-pressing grace.

A. J. SWOBODA, pastor, professor, and author of The Dusty Ones and Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology

God sometimes seems so close that we can almost feel the divine breath on our necks. But often, God seems like a ghost in the distanceblurry and noiseless. Chris Nye reminds us that regardless of how we feel, God is for us, in us, with us. This book is good news for all those who have reached for God and come up empty-handed.

JONATHAN MERRITT, author of Jesus Is Better than You Imagined

For too long the search for Gods presence has been a for-mystics-only pursuit. In his book Distant God, Chris Nye not only aptly describes the emotional feeling of God being far off but also prescribes what drawing near Him in obedience can look like. Whether you sense God to be near or far, this book will be a helpful map for drawing closer to Him.

TYLER BRAUN, pastor and author of Why Holiness Matters

Christian Scripture and the Christian life are very much about being present with the Lord. In Distant God, Nye helps us see, understand, and feel this truth; but he does not stop there. Instead, Nye pushes this beautiful, biblical reality into our exceedingly distracted lives. Through grounded biblical practices and wisdom, Nye spotlights the importance of the presence of God and shows us divinely prescribed ways we can get there. Distant God is a gift to the church because it brings theology to life and into our lives. Nye has given us a work that cuts through the anxieties of our lonely, isolated generation and helps point us back to our only hope and solution, the God who draws near.

J. RYAN LISTER, author of The Presence of God: Its Place in the Storyline of Scripture and the Story of Our Lives

When I first heard the idea for this book, Chris Nye and I stood at the foot of a roaring waterfall in the Oregon woods. As I hold it now, I have the sensation that I felt thenof being in the presence of a dear and wise man, hearing him muse about a truth that could transform lives. DistantGod leaps from the page with clear thought and seasoned wisdom. This book is pastoral and practical, open and grounded, awake to truth, biblically astute, and beautifully written. It will ground your mind, nourish your spirit, and open your eyes to the presence of God all around us. Where is God? Chris walks into that question honestly, as only a true pastor can. How happy I am that he has invited us to join him.

PAUL J. PASTOR, author of The Face of the Deep: Exploring the Mysterious Person of the Holy Spirit

Ah, those mountaintop spiritual experiences! Times when Gods presence is overwhelming, undeniable. Alas, such moments are fleeting. Most of our days stretch out amid the mundane and routineyet we never stop aching for another divine encounter, for more of God. Chris Nye is the perfect companion for our sojourn between the mountains. In Distant God, he combines pastoral wisdom with biblical insights to challenge popular assumptions about Gods presence while pointing the way to a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Maker. The result is an important book on a crucial topic from an author who demonstrates wisdom well beyond his years.

DREW DYCK, senior editor of CT Pastors and author of Generation Ex-Christian and Yawning at Tigers

2016 by
CHRIS NYE

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Edited by Jim Vincent

Interior design: Erik M. Peterson

Cover design: Simplicated Studio

Author photo: Jordan Chesbrough

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Nye, Chris (Pastor), author.

Title: Distant God : why he feels far away and what we can do about it / Chris Nye.

Description: Chicago : Moody Publishers, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.