Be Near

First Draft

God inhabits the praises of His people. Where praise is happening, God is there. Where thanks is being given to God, He is there. Where people are earnestly seeking Him, He is there.

He longs to be near us, to draw close to us, and to have us seek him out. God longs for this in a way and measure indescribable to us. He wants us close to Him. He wants to inhabit us. Our hearts and minds and spirits are closed doors unless we open them to Him and only Him.

Sin crouches by those doors. Harm and risk and pain and sorrow await us no matter where we are or what we do. But sin is optional. Sin is facing these things and still knowing that Jesus is there, but believing He is not enough. God is never inadequate. He has no lack, no shortfall, no missing piece. He is not merely adequate, but overwhelmingly abundant. He is the "wonderful counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

Did you ever see the movie Evan Almighty? In it, God is played by Morgan Freeman. In one scene, Freeman appears as waitstaff in a restaurant with the name tag Al Mighty, and without ever removing the empty plate, he quietly refills it with fish and chips.

That's what God wants to do for us. He wants us to call Him as casually and comfortably as we call a waiter in a restaurant. He wants to serve us, to provide for us, and to give us not only what we need, but what we don't expect or deserve. He wants us to call on Him, to call His name, to seek Him out so He can heap things we never even asked for upon us! He is the source of all blessing and provision and He seeks to do marvelous things for us.

Why don't we let Him do just that? Why don't we trust Him to do His best for us and know that He will? Why don't we trust Him, starting right now? Pray for Him to come to you. Pray for Him to come in His mighty and holy and worthy splendor and open the doors we keep closed against Him.

"O Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief."

We are not so different than the people Jesus saw and spoke with every day of His ministry here on earth. We all have dreams and disillusionments, hopes and worries, joys and sorrows. We must remember how badly He wants to reach out to us and comfort us in our sorrow. He wants to free our spirits, heal our injuries, release our fear. He wants us not tied up with ropes of sin, but connected with the bonds of love. We are the kite at the end of His string, and He loves us, loves to see us fly, see us soar, see us take wing and dance in the currents. He wants the thrill, of flight, the joy of the dance, to take hold of us, so much so that we can be free. Free of doubt, free of fear, free of worry and regret. Free, not because we have no ties to Him, but because we are tied to Him, to Hesus, who keeps us aloft so we can dance. Let us dance and spin and twirl in the sky with Jesus holding on tight!


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First Revision

The question: "Where is God?

The answer: "As close as your next breath."

You see, God is always present with us. He wants to be near us and share His life and love with us. The scriptures tell us repeatedly that God desires closeness with mankind. We are His beloved children and He knows us more intimately than we know ourselves. God knew us long before we were born, or conceived, or before humanity existed. No one can know us more thoroughly.

But knowing God is there without feeling His presence leaves us wanting. We may desire Him, but often what we really want is to feel His nearness inside of us. We read bestselling books and explore new spiritual disciplines and join bible studies. We attend seminars, go on retreats, and pursue famous preachers like groupies follow rock stars, all to draw closer to God. We treat our relationship with Him as if it were the result of our own efforts. One weekly bible study class combined with fifteen minutes of prayer daily and a pinch of good works is a recipe, not an invitation. We chase the divine and unfathomable God by grasping for the secular and comprehensible things of men. We run with all our strength, not only in the wrong direction, but on the wrong road.

There is no magic combination of practices guaranteed to win you a front row seat in God's presence. It's impossible to buy a ticket to get in to see Him. To draw close to Him requires us to offer Him something radical: an invitation.

Once again:"Where is God?"

The answer: "In your next breath."

God inhabits the praises of His people. Where praise to Him occurs, God is there. Where thanks is given to God, He is there. Where people seek Him, He is there. We recall the greatness of our God when we praise Him, and we affirm that greatness with our spoken words. Our praise is the invitation He seeks to come inside our hearts and become real for us. This is His desire. He longs to be near us, to draw close to us, and to have us seek him out. God longs for this in a way and measure indescribable to us. He wants us close to Him. He wants to inhabit us. Our hearts and minds and spirits are closed doors unless we open them to Him and only Him.

Sin crouches by those doors. Harm and risk and pain and sorrow await us no matter where we are or what we do. But sin is optional. Sin is facing these things and still knowing that Jesus is there, but believing He is not enough. God is never inadequate. He has no lack, no shortfall, no missing piece. He is not merely adequate, but overwhelmingly abundant. He is the "wonderful counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." When we praise Him for all this, we both confirm it to ourselves and bring us closer to the one who offers all He has.

The movie Evan Almighty features Morgan Freeman as God. In one scene, Freeman appears as waitstaff in a restaurant (with the name tag Al Mighty), and without ever removing an empty plate, he quietly refills it with fish and chips.

That's what God wants to do for us. He wants us to call Him as casually and comfortably as we call a waiter in a restaurant. He wants to serve us, to provide for us, and to give us not only what we need, but what we don't expect or deserve. He wants us to call on Him, to call His name, to seek Him out so He can heap things we never even asked for upon us. He is the source of all blessing and provision and He seeks to do marvelous things for us.

Why don't we let Him do just that? Why don't we trust Him to do His best for us and know that He will? Why don't we trust Him, starting right now? Pray for Him to come to you. Pray for Him to come in His mighty and holy and worthy splendor and open the doors we keep closed against Him.

"O Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief."

We are not so different than the people Jesus saw and spoke with every day of His ministry here on earth. We all have dreams and disillusionments, hopes and worries, joys and sorrows. We must remember how badly He wants to reach out to us and comfort us in our sorrow. He wants to free our spirits, heal our injuries, release our fear. He wants us not tied up with ropes of sin, but connected with the bonds of love. We are the kite at the end of His string, and He loves us, loves to see us fly, see us soar, see us take wing and dance in the currents. He wants the thrill, of flight, the joy of the dance, to take hold of us, so much so that we can be free. Free of doubt, free of fear, free of worry and regret. Free, not because we have no ties to Him, but because we are tied to Him, to Hesus, who keeps us aloft so we can dance. Let us dance and spin and twirl in the sky with Jesus holding on tight!