is far away? the first thing that comes to mind is james 4:8 “draw near to god and he will draw near to you.” this tells me that if god can draw near to me, that sometimes he really must be far off, still present but at a distance. if i feel like god is far away, it is up to me to make the first move to draw him near. i take the first step, he meets me halfway. verse 10 of the same chapter says to “humble yourself in the sight of the lord, and he will lift you up.” what must that feel like, to be lifted 