The Lord Is Near...

Jody Jensen, Australia

This last year and a half have been hard on our family… My husband suffered a major cardiac arrest where his heart stopped and needed CPR to bring him back - all right in front of our 3 children. My stress levels were through the roof with trying to meet my husband's needs during his recovery, attempting to support 3 children through their distress and sadness along with my own struggles of shock and worry. I longed for God so much, for him to be closer to me than I thought he was and not so far away in Heaven. The Lord is near. I held on so tightly to God’s word.

"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." – Philippians 4:5-7

devotional

The Bible says that ‘The Lord is near.’ We can feel the closeness of God and have a deep intimate relationship with him.

Have you ever sat down next to someone you don’t know? Been to a place where you are the new person? Felt lonely in a room full of people? Being physically close to someone does not always mean we are close to someone. Being physically distant from someone does not mean we are far away from them either. For the Lord to be near us, he doesn’t need to be ‘near’ us physically.

It says in verse 7: ‘And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ It is hard to believe that God is near us. To really live this out. We don’t need God to take away the trouble in our lives or heal our loved ones to have peace from God. We don’t need to see him with our own eyes or touch him in the flesh. Or even see signs that he is near. We just need to pray to God about our worries, doubts and sorrows and give him our requests. His promise is to give us His peace. A peace we don’t understand. A peace that can only come from God. A peace that protects our minds and our hearts from negative thoughts, from believing he is not there for us, and the feeling that he is not near. The Lord is near.

During my husband's health scare and recovery, I began to feel so close to God after looking at focusing on this verse. Sometimes I would sit in silence and just be with God, and know he was near. He was by my side, with me every step of the way.

reflection questions

• When going through tough times, what are some of the things you can do to remind yourself that God is near?

• When you are feeling that God is far away, how could you overcome these feelings?

• In your day to day life, how can you be sure that God will give you the peace you long for?

scriptures

Psalm 145:18-20

Zephaniah 3:17

James 4:8