"I called on your name, O LORD,
from the depths of the pit; you
heard my plea, 'Do not close your
ear to my cry for help!'
You came near when I called on you;
you said, 'Do not fear!' "You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.”
Lamentations 3:55-58
Dear Lord, we are so close. That is a typical adage I hear: “We are so close
to completing something; we are so close to changing our circumstances;
we are so close to breaking down and things completely coming unraveled.”
But what are we really, really close to? What is the thing we are closest too? Of course, this is a personal perspective Master, but it seems like most people measure the hope and meaning of their lives by how close they are to…something.
Me too—I confess that my step by step progression either inspirers me to push on more diligently, or to turn back from the way I came to put some distance between me and my “closeness.” So what am I and my wife that close to? You know me best, Creator. I’ll first gravitate to the easy answers.
We are so close to…
—learning lessons from our past actions and inactions; pleasant and unpleasant.
—improving our financial situation; after a struggle of years.
—overcoming recent physical struggles.
—finishing up preparations for the great adventure You have placed before us; our ministry trip to Israel
—understanding prophesied future events which You warn will affect us
significantly.
significantly.
I’m sure You will subliminally suggest more to add to the list, Lord. I’m positive that anyone looking at this short list, can make it a longer one for themselves. Your Spirit is that kind of teacher, always encouraging us always closer to the answers You desire us to discover.
Sometimes though, You don’t seem to be ready for me to be as close as I desire to be. With being close, comes the awareness that things are not completely right…yet. Although not my preference, I do recognize a certain healthiness in the realization: In being close...there must remain, a gap. If there were no gap, there would be no need for us to strive. I am not yet sufficiently refined by Your methods and You have built into all of us, believer and non-believer alike, the characteristic of desire. Some of us desire to climb the hill toward Your love, others to take the downhill path.
Our closeness, provides an advantage. It humbles, causing me to realize how, no matter where I am on the uphill path, there is still more to learn, more to refine—so close, yet so far away. And it teaches. You encourage our journey, reminding and teaching along the path. I know what I’ve learned is but a speck of what You have yet to offer. So I remain obedient, walking out my faith with Your guidance, seeking the work yet to be done…
—changing my ways, repenting of our unpleasant past and striving to obey You, even when we think we know a better (or easier) way.
—not just improving our financial situation, but being alert to and resisting unrighteous spending temptations
—being spiritually vigilant and health conscious during the healing process of our physical struggles.
—more diligently sharing the testimony of our Israel adventure, including others through awareness, prayer and vicarious participation.
O yes, in all of this, pointing all the attention toward You. Professing Your handiwork and Glory in it all. With Your help and using the resources You supply—scripture, the fellowship of other believers, and our daily encounters with Your Spirit, we draw closer still.
And as we draw nearer to one another, You give us other things to be close to; a kingdom where we will not be close, but one. And that’s a place I long to reach. I know, by Your promises, that its already “done” in Your eyes, the victory is Yours. But I am only close to understanding how You can love me, love all of us, that much.
We are so close to knowing you better. Draw ever nearer to us, Lord Jesus. I feel your closeness— the real, real closeness with the one I hope for. Pull me, pull us all in and help us learn how to share the closeness of your love with those who have yet to recognize your presence and the glory of the Father, whom you lead us ever closer to.
Shalom
Mark C.
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