Closer Than NearbySample

I AM HERE FOR YOU

Since we are talking about love songs this week, let us think about what most love songs are all about. If you think about any number one hit love song, you will most likely hear an intense longing of the singer to be with their lover. Whether the song is about a lover who is far away or one who has left them for someone else, there is always an overpowering need to have him/her with them. Intimacy with God works in the same way.

God expresses his longing to be with us many times throughout the Bible. Over and over He reassures his beloved people that He wants to be with them all the time. “..because God has said, ‘I will never leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5, NIV). "I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people" (Ezekiel 37:27, NLT). Can you hear God’s commitment in his love song? Can you hear Him offering his continuous presence to you?

During David’s intimate moment with God, he feels God’s presence intensely. “I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8, NLT). David is so connected to God’s love that he is never alone, not even for a moment. Jesus brought this intimate presence of God even closer to us.

By Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, He gave us his presence more completely than any earthly lover ever could. He sent his own Spirit to be in us all the time. “‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. ..he lives with you now and later will be in you" (John 14:16-17, NLT).

Do you believe that God is with you and in you at this moment? How does it make you feel to know that Someone who loves you completely is close to you all the time?

Let each step that we take be an intimate moment with God because He is always closer than nearby. “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Galatians 5:25, NLT)