Never Far

“The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18

A portion of the chorus from Carole King’s song So Far Away had been bouncing around in my head “But you’re so far away. Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore? It would be so nice to see your face at my door…” Two friends dealing with major health issues and a death in the family had me feeling too far away. So I’d been praying and listening when I got a gentle reminder from the Lord that He is never far away. 

I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have church with King David, because his songs of praise are so honest. This week’s passage is from one such Psalm. David’s life was anything but easy and something tells me he often felt far away from the people he loved, from the simpler, if not easier times as a shepherd. But he was always confident that his God was there, never far away from him. That’s the great reminder from this week’s passage “The Lord is close to the broken hearted… and the sick, and the fearful, and the discouraged and the – you fill in the blank with what might be making you feel far away.   

As Joshua prepared to lead the people into the promise land in obedience to what his God had commanded him to do, God reminded him in no uncertain terms that He would never leave him or forsake him (Joshua 1:5). It’s hard to think that Jesus ever felt far away, but I think there may have been times when He did. Perhaps he felt far away when he learned of John’s death. Maybe He felt far away as he prayed in the garden pleading for the cup to be taken away, while yielding His will to the Father’s. Very possibly as He cried “My God, my God why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)” as he hung on the cross. After the resurrection Matthew shares a commissioning different and at the same time similar to the one God had given Joshua and He ends with a similar promise that “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).  

You see, whether thousands of miles separate you from the people you love, or the storms of life have you feeling distant from the God who loves you best – He is never far from where you are and His love can bridge the gap and allow our hearts to touch no matter where we are.

A Prayer
Father – thank you so much for the gentle reminders of your nearness to us. No matter what we face or how far we are from the people who mean the most to us, we can trust fully that You are near. We can trust that You see us, hear us, understand our pain and love us. Be with us in a fresh way, hold us tight when we are in the midst of a storm. Stoke the fire of Your Spirit in us so that we can shine your light to the world around us. In the name of Jesus, who never far – Amen.