Draw Me Close To You
Why would God let that happen? My friend asked the question at our Bible study, referring to a tragic incident in her past. I would have felt unprepared for such a big question, but unbeknownst to me, God had prepared me for the question just a week earlier. My daughter was sick and I spent the night sitting up with her, holding my little girl in my arms. As she gets older, I get less and less time like that, and while I would never wish sickness on her, the sickness drew her closer to me in that moment. It struck me a few days later that perhaps our Heavenly Father feels the same way. When things are going well in our lives, we can get comfortable and as a result we don’t run to His arms. It may only be when things go bad, when troubles strike, that we run to His arms and He gets to hold us and take care of us.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
What draws you close to God? When do you go running to the Father’s arms? Do you run to Him in the good times? Does taking a walk and soaking in nature draw you close to the Lord? Nature seemed to draw David close to the Lord as he related nature to God in many of the Psalms.
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)
“The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.” (Psalm 33:6-9)
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.” (Psalm 24:1-2)
What if we ran to His arms in the good times? Keep in mind that, perhaps, God allowed a tragedy in your life to draw you closer to Him. What if it didn’t take a tragedy or trouble to draw us close to the Lord? Perhaps God called a loved one home to Him so that both of you would be closer to Him. Could you draw close to God in the good times and the bad? Don’t let the comforts of this world pull you away from the Lord. Even when things are peaceful and calm, remember that God is always with you, that He is the source of all peace and the calm and He is a loving Father who wishes to hold you in His arms.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
