"The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." Psalm 145:18
He is always near. He is never far. The Lord is close to those who call upon His name. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us...without fail.
"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18
For the most part, these weeks of "aloneness" with Brodie gone have been smooth, even joyful! But it only makes sense that there were also times of sadness. I realize that if all of life were roses, never pricked by thorns, then we would be sufficient without a Savior. Yet, that is not the case. Much greater is His story when we struggle, toil, cry, and come to the end of ourselves, where He begins, and then we thank Him for His caring mercy and Fatherly love. It's with this perspective straight that I thank the Lord for the thorns of the week, even count them all joy.
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
James 1:2-4
Life is hard. Have you noticed??
But how often do we thank God for our trials? How easily do we forget? If He is in control (and He is) and if He is always good (and He is), then we can trust God. We can press into His faithfulness and let go of self-reliance. We can exhale...and then breath in deep His steadfast love and mercies. They are new every morning. How great is the faithfulness of the Lord!
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23
Who can relate to a life without struggles? Anyone?
I've thought about this with my kids this week. If I don't let them in on my struggles, then I can't let them in on my Solution. And it's the same with friendships. As we all wander through the desert that life can be, my hope is not that I can live a flawless life, but rather that as I contend with the flaws I can point to Him, my Solution. I can turn to Him, Jesus, the only One who will never disappoint us. He will never let us down.
He is always near. He is never far. The Lord is close to those who call upon His name.
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." James 4:8
True it is that sometimes God's "good" looks different than our idea of "good", but indeed He is always good. Simply, His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are infinitely greater than our thoughts.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9
And so I thank Him. I thank Him for the roses and I thank Him for the thorns. I trust Him way more than I trust myself and I draw near and I find Him.
He is always near. He is never far. The Lord is close to those who call upon His name.
"But you are near, O Lord." Psalm 119:151
"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known." Jeremiah 33:3
