DAY 2 — Can’t Feel Him? Signs the Holy Spirit Is Pulling Away | When God Stops Speaking: Understanding Spiritual Silence

Family, today we’re stepping into a sensitive but necessary truth:

What does it look like when the Holy Spirit begins pulling away His influence?

Right away, we may have some people ready for a debate: does the Holy Spirit, Jesus, or God pull away from us? Doesn’t the Scripture say God is ever present and He will never leave us nor forsake us?

So to be clear: I am not talking about God abandoning us — because in Christ, He never leaves.

I’m talking about those moments when His voice grows faint to our eyes, His nudges feel distant, and the clarity we once walked in seems to thin out. Me, you, we, us…It’s about what we feel in our human selves.

Today, our anchor scripture is 1 Samuel 16:14 (NKJV): “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.”

Remember from Day 1, Saul didn’t become insensitive overnight. There was a slow drift — partial obedience, selective listening, hardened places — and eventually, the Holy Spirit withdrew His influence so Saul could see the true condition of his heart. 

Family, I talk about this humbly because all of us — me included — have had seasons where our sensitivity wasn’t where it used to be.

Let’s walk through this together.

One of the signs is when conviction becomes soft. Things that once made us pause now slip by without the same inner nudge. Not rebellion… just a quieter warning. 

Another sign is clouded discernment. Decisions that used to feel clear now feel confusing. Voices we used to recognize as distracting suddenly sound reasonable. What was once sharp becomes foggy.

Then there are moments where we lean more on our own reasoning than on God’s prompting. We plan without praying, we respond without pausing, we react from instinct instead of sensitivity. 

Family, this is exactly what happened with King Asa in 2 Chronicles 16. 

Asa didn’t turn away from God — he simply trusted his own strategy more than God’s guidance. And when correction came, his heart wasn’t soft enough to receive it. Can anybody identify? Or are we still not humble enough to admit that our hearts need softening?

Sometimes the clearest sign is when peace lifts. Not chaos… just the subtle absence of rest. 

We’re doing the same things we always do, but the inner calm is gone. There’s a quiet uneasiness we can’t quite name. These are not signs that God is rejecting us. They are signs that the Holy Spirit is inviting us to become aware again — to come close, to notice the drift, to return to tenderness.

Let’s look now at Samson. Judges 16:20 (NKJV) says, “But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.” 

Samson had become so accustomed to living close to the edge that he didn’t even notice when the presence lifted. Not because God wanted to destroy him — but because Samson had treated sacred things casually for too long.

Family, the pulling away is not punishment — it’s protection. It’s God showing us we’ve begun to move independently, and He wants to bring us back to tenderness. 

Sometimes all it takes is one honest confession: “Lord, I feel distant, and I don’t want to stay this way.” God responds to that kind of humility.

Family, sometimes when we feel the Holy Spirit pulling back, it’s because God wants to bring something to the surface that we’ve pushed down for too long. 

And Scripture shows us this pattern more than once.

Think about David in Psalm 139:23–24 (NKJV): “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

David wasn’t asking God to search him because he felt strong. He asked because something inside him needed revealing.

This is what happens when it seems like God gets quiet — our own thoughts, motives, and patterns get loud enough for us to finally hear them.

And Family, that inner revealing is biblical.

Let’s look at Psalm 77, a psalm we don’t quote often.

Asaph said in verse 6 (NKJV): “My spirit made diligent search.”

In the silence, Asaph realized things about himself he had ignored. That wasn’t punishment — it was clarity.

Sometimes when the Holy Spirit’s influence feels distant, God is allowing our hearts to “make diligent search” - To see the exhaustion we’ve been ignoring…the disappointment we never processed…the quiet offense we kept buried…or the fear that has been shaping decisions more than faith.

Another overlooked verse that speaks to this is Proverbs 20:27 (NKJV): “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.”

Family, God uses these quiet seasons to shine His light into the places we’ve learned to function around - Not to shame us, but to free us.

We also see this in Elijah’s story, but not the dramatic part with fire. 

It’s the quiet part — 1 Kings 19:12 (NKJV): “And after the fire a still small voice.”

What was God doing?

Exposing Elijah’s fear… his exhaustion… his assumptions… his loneliness…not by shouting — but by stepping close enough for Elijah to hear the whisper.

Sometimes Family, the whisper feels like distance, but it’s actually God’s gentleness calling our truth to the surface.

Today, we are reminded that when the Holy Spirit’s influence feels faint, it is seldom  about judgment. It is often about preparation — God showing us the inner places that need His touch before the next assignment, the next season, the next step.

Because as Scripture teaches in Psalm 34:18 (NKJV): “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”

He is near — not distant.Working — not withdrawing.Softening — not abandoning.

And the moment we recognize something in us needs His touch, He meets us right there. Not with frustration… not with condemnation… but with the gentle pull of His presence saying, “Come closer. I’m right here. Let’s deal with this together.” Hallelujah.

Tomorrow in Day 3, we’re going even deeper — because after the Holy Spirit pulls away His influence, something else always tries to fill the space. And the danger of an unfilled heart is real.

But for today, let this truth settle:When we can’t feel Him like we used to, it’s often because God is revealing the inner work we cannot ignore.

And when we turn our hearts again, He meets us with mercy, never distance.