ODJ: God is near
August 4, 2011
Call on [God] now while He is near (v.6).
READ: Isaiah 55:1-7
Last October, the world looked on—cheering and crying and laughing with relief and joy—as 33 Chilean miners were plucked one by one from their deep, cavernous prison. For more than 2 months, these men hung on to hope and life a half-mile below ground. The rescue teams preparing for the evacuation had numerous concerns: Would the escape pod function properly? Would the men experience hypertension as they rose to the surface? Would they develop blood clots? The primary concern, however, was panic attacks. “This is the first time in many weeks that the miners are going to be completely alone,” said Chile’s health minister.
We know what it feels like to be alone. Perhaps you’ve been abandoned by a parent or friend. You may feel lost. Even in a crowd, you feel isolated. God, however, invites us into relationship, into friendship. “Come to me,” God says (Isaiah 55:3). He invites us to come out of isolation and embrace relationship with Him.
When we come to God, we’re always welcomed with open arms. Unlike other relationships we’ve known, God’s love isn’t based upon us meeting some expectation or providing something for Him. He simply loves—completely, entirely, without hesitation. God makes a promise to His people, an “everlasting covenant . . . [of] unfailing love” (v.3).
This everlasting covenant finds its ultimate expression in Jesus, who came to us and brought God to us, along with His life and forgiveness. We didn’t reach up to Him. In Jesus, God reached down to us. We didn’t come near to Him. In Jesus, God came near to us.
“Seek the Lord while you can find Him,” Isaiah says. “Call on [God] now while He is near” (v.6). The good news is that, in Jesus, “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). —Winn Collier
Where do you experience isolation and loneliness? How does God’s invitation to experience His nearness comfort you?
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it-
RSS Feed
Related
ODJ: universal problem
September 30, 2010 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know His law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it (v.14). READ: Romans 2:1-15 In his book Human Universals, anthropologist Donald Brown lists over 400 human behaviors common across all cultures. Some of his findings are touching: All [...]
ODJ: obedience & action
September 29, 2011 Don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says (v.22). READ: James 1:19-27 Francis Marion Tarwater, Flannery O’Connor’s young, disturbed character in The Violent Bear It Away, came of age in the backwoods—far from the town and other people. Tarwater’s uncle, a bizarre man who had ecstatic visions and believed [...]
ODJ: always true
June 21, 2011 The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God! (v.4). READ: Acts 4:36-5:11 Walking past me with a noticeable lump in his [...]
ODJ: four hearts
January 13, 2011 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! (v.8). READ: Mark 4:1-20 Theologian C. H. Dodd described Jesus’ parables as stories that tease us into thought. They provoke us—shock us even—into [...]
Christian Courses
Day Of Discovery
Discover The Word
Discovery Series
Help For My Life
My Utmost For His Highest
Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Journey
RBC Ministries
WarungSateKaMu
Manasociety
雅米