The Lord is Near :: Quietly Through Thursday Link-up #32

The Lord has made us a wonderful promise. That he is near to all who call on him in truth. So why does he feel so distant at time? What might we be missing or failing to do to recognize his presence?

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“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Psalms 145:18

I realize that in our Quietly Through reading plan we haven’t quite made to Psalms yet, but the Lord brought this verse to my attention today and the Holy Spirit deeply convicted me of my sin. So I had to confess and repent. And then, of course, write.

“The Lord is near…”

What a promise! How wonderful. But lately I’m not felling his nearness. I know he is near, always with me, never leaving or forsaking me, but I feel a distance, a growing gap. Why?

“… to all who call on him in truth.”

Truth.

Maybe I’m not calling. Maybe I am calling, but not in truth. Perhaps my time with him has, yet again, become something other than simply being with him. Reading my Bible, praying, going to church, discipling my children — has it all become religious duty rather than an act of true love for my God?

Have I spent far too much time doing for God, rather than being near God? (Jennie Allen, Nothing to Prove)

I want to experience His nearness. I want to experience the joy and pleasure and peace that comes from relaxing under his wing, at his side, snuggled up in his loving embrace. I want him. More than the endless list of to-do that I have made, I want to an endless list of this-is-how-I-can-love. Not because I want to show off or be able to count all my good deeds at the end of my life, but simply because I want to love Him (and others) the way he has loved me.

Lord in heaven, yet again I have turned away from you. You are as near as you have promised but I am not experiencing it because I am not fully present, fully focused on you. Forgive me. Break my heart even more for my neglect of you. Then please heal my broken heart. Please slather on the soothing balm of grace. In the name of your Son I pray. Amen.

Friends,

As with all #QuietlyThrough posts, this was written while reading quietly through God’s word. If you’re looking for a simple Bible reading plan that moves at an easy pace then the Quietly Through reading plan may be for you.

Only by grace,

Kelli

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