I read an Upper Room Devo the other day...

(http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/) in which a British woman named Emma wrote, "Sin clouds my sense of God's nearness." The line could be easily skimmed over. In fact, I doubt Emma thought much of the wording of this particular sentence. When I read it, I realized that I have always subconsciously thought that "Sin makes God not near." But that is not true. God never leaves us or forsakes us; He is ever near. Our sin just hampers our ability to sense Him.