A Simple Matter

June 8

God is ever near. There is no place a mortal may go that He will not be. The man who seeks Him in church will surely hear Him speak through the pastor’s voice or through the music of the choir or feel Him in the touch of a believer who extends a hand of welcome. But He can also be found along the highways and byways of life.

The story is told of a young woman who found Him while she danced in a cage at a ‘go-go’ bar. Jesus doesn’t stay outside when those He came to save enter denizens of iniquity. As David asks in Psalm 139:7, “Whither can I flee from Your Spirit?...If I rise to Heaven, You are there…if I say the darkness covers me, even the night shall be light…”

Man says that he longs to find God: he’s searching for Someone lost along the way. He’s searched the land and forests deep but cannot seem to find the One his sin and shame and pride required he leave behind. But when he enters a quiet place, kneels to pray; to beseech the One he’s seeking, “Guide, O Lord, my way! Hear my fervent plea, fulfill my search, lift from my eyes this veil to clearly see the lamp that lights Your loving face,” it’s then he will behold Jesus!

All the while, through the sea of tears, God has been there! Man who is fraught with sin and distress may not ‘feel’ His presence, but He is there, for He has assured in Zechariah 1:3, “Turn ye to Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you, saith the Lord of Hosts.” It’s not a matter of the searcher finding Him; it’s simply a matter of his opening his heart to feel His love and receive Him.