Restore Your Heart

Restore Your Heart Podcast

Have you ever wondered if your broken heart can truly heal… if the shame, triggers, and trauma will ever lose their grip? Restore Your Heart with Sheryl Giesbrecht Turner is the weekly lifeline for Christian women who are tired of pretending they’re “fine.”

With raw honesty, contagious hope, and straight-from-Scripture answers, Sheryl (a former hope-less dope-fiend turned dope-less hope-fiend) walks with you through the lies that keep you stuck and leads you straight to the truth that sets you free. If you’re a discouraged young mom, a depressed mid-life woman, or a despairing single or widow longing to feel chosen, seen, and whole again—this is your safe place.

Every Monday, in just 15 soul-refreshing minutes, you’ll trade condemnation for confidence, fear for freedom, and heartbreak for the unshakable love of Jesus. Hit subscribe, grab your coffee (or your tissues), and let the restoration begin. Come home to hope at www.sherylgt.com.

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Restore Your Heart

How Do I Draw Close to God?

April 27, 2026 • Sheryl Giesbrecht Turner • Season 1 • Episode 16

0:00 | 9:31

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Do you feel distant from God? Has it been a long time since you felt His presence? Are you wondering, what do I do? Today I share three tested habits to help you to draw close to God.

Feeling distant from God can seem like a hunger pang that isn’t satisfied, or a thirst that can’t be quenched, or a road trip without a map. It makes us feel lost, out of sorts, separated, and possibly even desperate.

The first habit to implement to draw close to God –Dwell In His Presence

Psalm 91:vs 1 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the almighty.” When we choose to “dwell, stay, reside, inhabit, live, consist” in God’s presence is a picture of a personal relationship with God. The verb or action word "dwell" means "live in conscious fellowship with, draw daily strength from."

The NIV version of Psalm 91:1 says, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

The second habit to put to use to draw close to God -- Abide in His Shadow

The second half of Psalm 91:1 “To abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” We are talking about staying near to God. If someone’s shadow falls on you, you must walk very close to someone if their shadow falls on us. And that is true with our relationship with God. We are talking about a literal place of physical safety and security that God invites us to experience in Psalm 91.

The third habit to help us to draw close to God - Dwell and Abide in the Secret Place of His Presence

You might be asking the question…how do I dwell in the security and shelter of the Most High? Yes, it is more than an intellectual experience. This verse talks about a dwelling place. From our discussion, we’re reminded of the secret place, the shelter of the Most High is a literal dwelling place. It’s a choice to choose God’s presence over the presence of all other comforters.

Pastor Chuck Swindoll says, “The secret to survival is to "dwell in the shelter of the Most High," to "abide in the shadow of the Almighty." God gives great comfort to those who live in the shelter of the Most High.“

We’ve talked about tried and tested habits to enable us to draw close to God:

Habit number 1. Dwell in His Presence -- Psalm 91:1 a “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High…”

Habit number 2. Abide in His Shadow. – Psalm 91:1 b “will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Habit number 3. Dwell and Abide in The Secret Place of His Presence – We can choose to dwell in the Shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Thank you for joining me, I am excited to be part of your journey. Please share this episode and hit subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes. I can't wait for you to experience God's peace, comfort, and wholeness.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Do you feel distant from God? Has it been a long time since you felt His presence? Are you wondering what I do to feel near to God again? Today I share three successful habits to help you draw close to God. Restore your heart starts right now. Or will this pain ever stop? You've felt abandoned and alone. Be encouraged. You've found a friend here who knows. God understands each hurt. God cares about each loss. Everything that has happened to you has broken God's heart. Let's get started. Feeling distant from God can seem like a hunger pain that isn't satisfied, or a thirst that can't be quenched, or a road trip without a map. It makes us feel lost, out of sorts, separated, and possibly even desperate. God tells us in his word in James 4, verse 8, come near to God and he will come near to you. Some of us have tried to tell our best friend about it. Others have attempted to fill our time with activity. What do you do when you need help in an emergency? Do you call a relative, a friend, a neighbor? It helps to call an emergency number 911, right? Thankfully, I haven't needed to use the real 911 emergency number lately, but I've learned to call God's emergency number every single day. Psalm 91, verse 1. This is the solution to drawing close to God. It's to call God's 911. Psalm 91, verse 1. In this scripture, God shares what to do. And that brings us to the first habit to help us to draw close to God, and that is found in Psalm 91, verse 1, to dwell in God's presence. It says, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. When you and I choose to dwell, that stay, reside, inhabit, live, or consist in God's presence, that's a picture of a personal relationship with our great God. The word dwell in Webster's dictionary is defined as a place to live. We dwell in a place with a person by choice. The King James Version of Psalm 91, verse 1 says, He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And one of the best kept secrets of our faith is the power that we receive when we cultivate a secret place with God. The word dwell in Psalm 91.1 is translated from the Hebrew Yeshav, and it means to remain, to sit, or abide. The verber action word dwell means to live in conscious fellowship with or draw daily strength from. That's so good, isn't it? The NIV version says in verse 1, whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. In the same way someone might live off the land, we're encouraged to draw every provision that we need from God. And this demands an attitude of continual awareness of God's presence. The term shelter in verse 1 in the original means cove or secret hideaway. A group of soldiers caught behind enemy lines need to find a place to rest that's hidden from view and safe from their enemy. The Lord is said to be our refuge, a place where you and I can find safety and rest, safe from our enemy. The second habit to put to use to draw close to God, abide in his shadow. And that's the second half of Psalm 91, verse 1. To abide under the shadow of the Almighty. We're talking about staying near to God. If someone's shadow falls on you, you've got to walk pretty close to someone. And that's true of our relationship with God. We're talking about a literal place of physical safety and security that God invites us to experience in Psalm 91. Author Peggy Joyce Ruth writes about this. Dwelling in the shelter of the Most High is the Old Testament's way of teaching faith. The most intense illustration of a personal relationship with God. Man has no innate built-in shelter, alone he stands unsheltered against the elements and must run to the shelter himself. In this first verse of Psalm 91, God offers us more than protection. It's as if he rolled out the hospitality, Matt, and personally invites us in. Isn't that great? You and I have a choice, friend. If someone gave you a beautifully wrapped gift, you admired it, and you thought, well, it's just too beautiful to unwrap. You didn't open the gift and receive it. God offers us his presence. He invites us into the secret place of his presence, but you and I must accept the invitation. The secret place is literal. It really does exist, but it's also conditional. Our part has to come first. We must abide in the shadow of the Almighty. That means we must choose to stay close to God. We must first choose to dwell in the shelter of the Most High. As we choose to dwell, that stay close to God, we can abide in his shadow and we can find comfort and peace there. Some people think that the secret place is for the super spiritual, but it's for anyone who wants a deeper relationship with God. How does this happen? That brings us to our third point. The third habit to help us draw close to God is to put these two things into use, dwell and abide in the secret place of God's presence. You might be asking that same question, how does this happen? How does this work? How do I dwell in the security and shelter of the most high? Well, it's more than an intellectual experience. The verse talks about a dwelling place. And from our discussion, we're reminded of the secret place, the shelter of the Most High. That's a literal dwelling place. It's a choice to choose God's presence over the presence of all other comforters. You and I might have experienced comfort from being hugged by a loved one as a toddler. I remember running into my daddy's strong arms. As they folded around me, I felt his protection, comfort, and presence. The secret place of God's presence is a place we can be physically protected if we run to the Most High. When we choose to get up and run to His shelter, His presence, His shadow, we'll experience it. The secret place is the intimacy, familiarity, and comfort of the literal presence of God. Pastor Chuck Swindah says the secret to survival is to dwell in the shelter of the Most High and to abide in the shadow of the Almighty. God gives great comfort to those who live in the shelter of the Most High. Today we've talked about three tried and tested habits to help us to draw close to God. Habit number one, dwell in his presence. Psalm 91, verse 1a, whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high. Habit number two, abide in his shadow. That's Psalm 91, verse 1b. Will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Habit number three, dwell and abide in the secret place of his presence. You and I can choose to dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I encourage you this week, choose to dwell. That's live in conscious fellowship with, draw daily strength from the Most High God. Choose to rest and accept God's invitation to abide under the shadow of the Almighty. God wants your fellowship and God is offering you his security and shelter in his secret place. Thanks for joining me for Restore Your Heart. This is episode one of our three-episode series of I Don't Feel Close to God. I hope you join us next week when we discuss how to hear God's voice when we feel far away. Stop by my website, Cheryl G T.com. That's S-H-E-R-Y-L, G as in go t as in ton to follow up. If you enjoyed this episode, please share and subscribe. This is Cheryl Giespark Turner. I look forward to next time as we fellowship together calling 911. See you then.