God Who is Near
For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? Deuteronomy 4:7
I used to have a friend who went home every day hoping for a check in the mail. She wasn’t really disappointed when she didn’t get one (most days) but she was elated when she opened the mailbox and there was a check for her!
Yesterday, it wasn’t a check in the mail, but I got a sweet financial surprise I was not expecting . It was timely for something I wanted to buy as a gift. Happy day! Simple blessings are the best.
Every time I experience the obvious faithfulness of God in some small (or large) way, it reminds me of all He has done for me.
But, sometimes, the very next day I will get overwhelmed with little annoyances or disappointments, and start to question what I know to be true about God. I am grateful that the time I stay in doubt or question mode is shrinking all the time.
It seems that several people around me right now are experiencing those times when God seems far away. To their credit, they are seeking out the Truth in the scriptures and trying to re-ground themselves in those truths, rather than the feelings they have about their circumstances.
This is good because it’s sometimes hard to remember that God doesn’t change, our circumstances do.
When life gets hard and other people seem to be making it harder than it needs to be, it can be easy to take our eyes off of God’s sovereignty, to forget that He is the God who is near (Deuteronomy 4:7), and who is faithful (1 Corinthians 10:13). Doubt grows and, often, sin enters…especially if someone is sinning against us. (Sin in response to sin is never good.)
In Deuteronomy 4:9-10 Moses is talking to the nation of Israel. He is reminding them of the blessing they will receive if they obey God’s commands. He says, “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children–.’”
God warns them (through Moses) that they might forget what He tells them. They should tell their families, even the grandchildren, what He has done for them when He introduced them to His law – so that it is not just passed down, but that the individuals remember.
Remembering God’s faithfulness to keep His promises in the past helps us to trust Him more in the future.
Do you and I talk about God’s faithfulness to us? Even a little thing like providing a small amount of money to make someone else happy? Are we willing to be His ambassador? This is not just to pass our faith to the next generation. It is also to remind us that we serve a faithful God, the One who is near… so we remember.