It is a blessing for a believer to recognize when God seems distant, since it is easy to drift away from the presence and protection of the Lord without noticing it. Then it is an even greater blessing when the Spirit nudges us to use the means of grace in His Word to draw close. When one is at “the end of the earth and the heart is overwhelmed” it is time to cry to the Lord in prayer: “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” He hears the prayer and brings him into that refuge and tower that is safe from the triple enemy: sin, death and the devil. This is abiding in the tabernacle of the Presence of God, the key to living the full life.
The move from distance to nearness, from the land of the enemy to the home of the Lord, is not a physical movement; it is a simple spiritual turning. Both God and the Enemy are constantly next to and within the Christian, but which has his attention? The gift of God is the discernment of position: am I in a place of danger or of safety? When noticed, turn.