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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Psalm

  • God is Closer Than You Think

    God is Closer Than You Think

    God is closer than you think

    Where do you think God is? It’s a simple question, but the answer is often surprising. A lot of people think God is somewhere way off in space, in heaven, wherever that is. The truth is that God is closer than you think.

    There is a sense in which that is true. God is transcendent. He is outside of time and space as we understand it.

    There is a sense in which he is internal. The Holy Spirit dwells with every believer.

    Yet at times, he can feel so far removed from us that we cannot even begin to sense his presence. Our prayers seem unanswered. We seek peace, but all we feel is turmoil. Everything is going wrong. We feel pressed, persecuted and beaten down.

    The world weighs heavily on our shoulders. Humanity is a mess, and the inmates seem to be running the asylum. Where is he?

    He is closer than you think.

    The Bible is full of verses to confirm the truth that outweighs our feelings.

    For Yahweh will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance. Psalm 94:14

    Yahweh is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. Psalm 145:18

    He is often with us, and we fail to recognize Him. It happened to Jacob.

    … “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it.” Genesis 28:16

    Hagar did not recognize the Lord in the wilderness. Cleopas and his companion did not recognize Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. He walked for 30+ years in Israel, and most people could not see Him for who He was.

    In closing his instructions to the disciples after giving them the Great Commission, Jesus said, “… I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 18:20

    He hasn’t left you. He’s right there with you. God is closer than you think. He sees, He knows, and He cares.

    There will come a time when we see him in the New Jerusalem, but never forget He walks with you today in every situation.

    Hold fast, my friends.

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone) 

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    SUMMARY

    Despite our feelings of abandonment during hardship and unanswered prayer, God is never truly far — He is both transcendent and intimately present with every believer.

    KEY POINTS

    Throughout Scripture, people failed to recognize God’s presence even when He was right beside them — Jacob, Hagar, and the disciples on the road to Emmaus all missed Him in the moment. 

    God’s Word overrules our feelings: He will not abandon His people, He is near to all who call on Him, and Jesus promised to be with His followers always, to the end of the age. 

    Whatever you’re facing today — pressure, turmoil, unanswered prayer — He sees, He knows, and He cares. He hasn’t left you.

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

    You might also enjoy “Close to the Master,” “Is Christianity too narrow?” or “The best news you will ever hear!”

  • Complaining? Turn it to praise.

    Complaining? Turn it to praise.

    We live in Abbotsford, BC, in the Lower Mainland. That means rainy winters, and it’s raining this morning. A few people at church yesterday (including me) were complaining about how wet the weather had been. So, I set myself on a quest to find out how much rain we had so far this year. Okay, not really a quest per se; I went online and looked.

    In January, we had 178mm (7 inches) of rain. That’s enough to fill 1.5 average Vancouver umbrellas. That’s a lot of moisture, but…

    The average rainfall for Abbotsford in January is 200 mm, so it has actually been drier than average. I guess we had no real reason to complain. Then I remember where we used to live and converted the rain to snowfall, about 5 inches. That’s enough to bring the Lower Mainland to a full stop if it fell at once, and it’s hardly noticeable in many places.

    Either way, there was no reason for complaining. It amazes me how often we can fall into complaining, even over first-world problems. There is something in the fallen human condition that seems determined to look at the world through darkened lenses and tell one another how bad things are.

    It’s nothing new. The Israelites in the wilderness complained about hunger. The Lord visibly and miraculously provided their daily bread. They still found reason to complain and wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt. We are fickle people.

    Compare that to the way the Bible tells us we ought to be.

     Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5-18 ESV

     “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”  Psalm 136:1 ESV

    “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” Job 1:21 ESV

    We often forget or fail to notice the many things we have to be grateful for. Some people keep a gratitude journal, where, at the end of the day, they note all the blessings, large and small, for that day. Others post an image of something they are grateful for on their social media page daily.

    There are many things to be grateful for. Even our street people have better living conditions than many people in the world. By and large, North Americans are still wealthier than the majority of people worldwide and across generations.

    If we are believers, our sins are forgiven, and we are reconciled to God. We are the recipients of His love and mercy. He walks with us in all our trials. The Spirit can intercede for us and more.

    It’s time to take some time and reflect on our blessings. As the old song says, “Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings and see what God has done.”

    Instead of being people who complain, let’s remember how blessed we are, despite our circumstances, and praise God.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

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