WHEN LOVE IS NEAR BUT THE HEART IS FAR: HOW WE HINDER OURSELVES FROM GOD’S LOVE
WHEN LOVE IS NEAR BUT THE HEART IS FAR: HOW WE HINDER OURSELVES FROM GOD’S LOVE
By Otun Stephen Gbenga | Philosopher & Theologian
God’s love is one of the most comforting truths in Scripture. It is vast, unchanging, and eternal. The psalmist declares, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Paul proclaims that nothing can separate us from that love. Yet, as comforting as this truth is, many believers still find themselves living as though God’s love is distant, blocked, or withheld.
This raises an honest and necessary question:
If God loves us so deeply, are there ways we can hinder ourselves from enjoying that love?
The answer is yes—not because God withdraws His love, but because we sometimes step out of alignment with the light He freely shines on us. The sun does not stop shining simply because someone hides in the shadows. In the same way, God’s love remains constant, but our choices can cloud our hearts from receiving its warmth.
In this devotional, we explore this reality through one of Scripture’s most tragic and instructive figures—King Saul. We will also consider other biblical examples and reflect on how believers today can remain open to the love that is always pursuing us.
THE TRAGEDY OF A CHOSEN MAN WHO HINDERED HIMSELF
King Saul stands as one of the clearest pictures of a person deeply loved by God yet tragically separated from the enjoyment of that love.
When Saul was chosen, he had everything in his favor. God anointed him, empowered him, surrounded him with prophets, and clothed him with a new heart. Nothing about Saul’s early life suggested failure. In fact, God’s love towards him was unmistakably generous.
So what went wrong?
The Scriptures reveal not a God who abandoned Saul, but a man who abandoned the pathway that keeps fellowship with God alive.
Saul’s life teaches a sobering truth:
Divine love is constant, but human choices determine the quality of our fellowship with God.
1. DISOBEDIENCE: THE FIRST STEP AWAY FROM DIVINE FELLOWSHIP
Sin does not make God stop loving us — but it blinds us, isolates us, and hardens us. Saul’s first major step away from God was not ignorance, but conscious disobedience.
In 1 Samuel 13, Saul acted out of impatience and offered a sacrifice he had no right to offer. Instead of seeking forgiveness, he justified his actions.
The issue was not the sacrifice itself, but the spirit behind the action:
A heart slowly bending away from obedience.
Disobedience is subtle. It begins with small compromises, defended by human reasoning. Over time, a person no longer hears the gentle whispers of the Spirit. The soul becomes crowded with its own voice.
When we defend what God is trying to kill in us, we slowly kill the fellowship God is trying to defend.
2. PRIDE AND STUBBORNNESS: WHEN THE HEART REFUSES TO TURN BACK
The prophet Samuel confronted Saul with a chance to repent. But instead of humbling himself, Saul insisted on being right. Pride is the doorway through which spiritual blindness enters. It is the quiet voice that says:
- “I am okay.”
- “God should understand.”
- “Other people are worse than me.”
1 Samuel 15:23 contains one of the most alarming statements in Scripture:
“Stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
Why idolatry?
Because stubbornness enthrones self-will in the place of God’s will.
In Saul, pride grew into a tree that overshadowed every good seed God had planted. Pride is not the absence of God’s love; it is the absence of our willingness to yield to that love.
Human beings often imagine sin as a dark act, but in Scripture, the most dangerous sin is a hard heart—the heart no longer moved by conviction.
3. THE FEAR OF PEOPLE: WHEN HUMAN VOICES BECOME LOUDER THAN GOD'S
Saul confessed, “I feared the people.”
Here lies a profound philosophical and spiritual truth:
Whatever becomes a greater source of approval than God becomes a substitute god.
Fear of people can silence the fear of God. When public opinion becomes weightier than divine instruction, we naturally drift from God’s presence. Saul’s heart slowly shaped itself around the expectations of the crowd. His decisions were no longer anchored in God’s voice but in human applause.
Today, many Christians lose the warmth of God’s love not because God stepped away, but because they tuned their ears to too many other voices.
A crowded heart always pushes God to the edges.
4. REJECTION OF GOD’S WORD: THE FINAL BREAK IN FELLOWSHIP
Samuel finally delivered the verdict that still shakes readers today:
“You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you.”
This statement does not mean God stopped loving Saul. God’s love is eternal. But Saul had placed himself beyond the reach of God’s active fellowship. He closed the very door through which grace and guidance flow.
This is one of the most serious spiritual dangers:
Continued rejection of divine correction leads to spiritual silence.
Saul’s story ends tragically—not because God hates sinners, but because continued refusal hardens the soul into a place where it no longer responds to God’s love.
This is the human side of separation. God’s love does not fail. But like a lamp placed under a thick covering, its light no longer warms the one who has blocked it out.
BIBLICAL COMPANIONS ON THE PATH OF SELF-HINDRANCE
Saul is not the only one in Scripture who hindered himself. The Bible gives us multiple portraits:
Cain
He was warned directly by God:
“Sin lies at the door, but you must rule over it.”
Cain ignored the warning, allowed bitterness to fester, and walked away from God’s face. The issue was not God’s love but Cain’s unyielded heart.
Samson
Greatly loved and empowered, yet repeatedly played with sin until his anointing and discernment were drained. God’s love remained, but Samson toyed with the boundaries of grace.
Judas Iscariot
Walked with Jesus physically, heard His voice, watched His compassion — yet unbelief and greed slowly built a wall David could never climb over. Judas was not destroyed by a lack of love, but by a refusal to receive it.
THE PHILOSOPHICAL DIMENSION: LOVE GIVEN VS. LOVE RECEIVED
Divine love is active, intentional, and eternal. However, for love to transform, it must be received, not just offered.
Philosophically, love requires two movements:
- Outflow — God’s love reaching toward humanity
- Opening — the human heart receiving that love
When the second movement is refused, frustrated, or resisted, the experience of love becomes distorted.
A child may be surrounded by a parent’s affection but still feel unloved if they close their heart through distrust, guilt, or rebellion. The problem is not the absence of love, but the absence of response.
God’s love is perfect.
Our response is imperfect.
When we surrender our imperfections to Him, His love heals.
When we cling to our self-will, His love is blocked—not at the source, but at the reception point.
THE SPIRITUAL REALITY: GOD DOES NOT STOP LOVING, BUT WE CAN STOP WALKING WITH HIM
The prodigal son is a shining example. The father never stopped loving him. But the son removed himself from the place where the father’s love could be experienced.
He still belonged to the father.
He was still loved.
But he was far.
This distance is what sin, pride, unbelief, and stubbornness create—a distance of heart, not geography.
You can be in church yet far from God.
You can pray daily yet resist His voice.
You can quote Scripture yet reject its demands.
Love is constant, but fellowship is conditional.
HOW TO REMAIN OPEN TO GOD’S LOVE
-
Practice daily repentance
Repentance keeps the heart soft and the conscience healthy. -
Value obedience over comfort
Obedience keeps us aligned with God’s will. -
Fear God more than people’s opinions
When God is your audience, the heart is protected from compromise. -
Stay teachable
A teachable spirit keeps sin from taking root. -
Return quickly when you sense distance
Spiritual coldness is a warning light, not a verdict.
THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S MERCY
The story of Saul is tragic, but God’s heart is not tragic. His love is always open, always calling, always yearning for return.
Even when Saul drifted, God sent Samuel again and again. Divine love does not give up easily.
The message is simple:
No matter how far we wander, God’s love is waiting at the door. But we must open it.
CONCLUSION: THE LOVE THAT NEVER FAILS, AND THE HEART THAT MUST RESPOND
God’s love is unshakeable. Nothing external — not demons, not circumstances, not human failure — can separate us from it. But the human heart can hinder itself through sin, pride, unbelief, and disobedience.
Saul’s story stands as a mirror to every believer:
The danger is not losing God’s love, but losing the ability to enjoy it.
The call of Scripture is simple and beautiful:
Return. Yield. Listen. Obey. Trust. Open your heart again.
Because the One who loves you has not stopped loving you.
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