DAILY DEVOTIONAL – August 24, 2020

“Come Back!”

Prayer:  Our Heavenly Father, we admit that in our sin and doubt there are times we foolishly think You have forgotten about us or left us alone.  Strengthen our faith and give us eyes to see that You are in fact always with us, especially in those times when we feel alone.  Remind us as Your Word teaches us in the book of Hebrews that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  In Jesus Name we pray.  Amen.

Scripture: Psalm 90:13-16

O Lord, come back to us!
How long will you delay?
Take pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
¹⁵ Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
¹⁶ Let us, your servants, see you work again;
let our children see your glory.

Devotion – “Come Back!”

During a pastor’s conference last year, I listened to one of the fellow pastors at my table tell the story of a recent trip he took with his family.  I can’t remember where exactly he said they were, but he and his 8-year-old son went out hiking in a densely wooded forest, lined with narrow foot-beaten paths.  They were trekking through the woods of a forest that my pastor friend grew up in, and though he knew the paths well, his young son did not.  He wanted to share these woods with his son, but his son kept on running on ahead of him. He would regularly call out to his son, through the thick rows of bushy trees, “Son, you need to slow down.  Come back.  Wait for me.”  Eventually he heard his son shout out, “Dad, there are two roads now…where are you?  I don’t know which one to take.”  Seeing an opportunity to teach his son, this pastor and father decided to stay quiet.

“Dad!  Where did go?!  I can’t see you!  I don’t know which way to go!”

The dad quietly worked his way off the path and around where he knew his son was; coming up behind him. As he got closer he made more noise so his son would hear.  His son spun around quick, probably thinking it was an animal, and saw his dad standing there.

“Dad, where did you go?!”

“I didn’t go anywhere son, I knew exactly where you were.  I’ve been here many times before.  I saw you the whole time.  It was you that got ahead of me.  I told you to slow down, and wait, and come back to me.”

He could see the point was made, so he took his son’s hand and lead him down the right path.

I think it is something every child of God experiences in their faith life.  That feeling of being distanced from God.  The feeling of God being too far away when we want Him to be closest to us.  I imagine in those times when we cry out to God thinking He has moved farther away, God is whispering in our ear, “Stop.  Come back to me.”

In our Psalm for today from chapter 90, we’re told this is a Psalm of Moses.  Moses knew a thing or two about tuff times – wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, waiting on the Lord to provide food and water and save the Israelites from the relentless landscape.  The Israelites would regularly complain and grumble against Moses, blaming Him for their situation.  One can certainly understand how Moses had moments as we see in Psalm 90 where he cries out to God, “Lord, come back!  How long will You delay?!”  I’m sure like Moses, like me, you have also had those times.  Those times when life is hard, when we just can’t seem to win, when we feel alone, that everyone is against us and we feel completely incapable of fixing our situation.  We feel as though God couldn’t be farther away and we cry out, “Where are You Lord?!  Come back!  I need You close!”

You know friends, the truth is, we have given God no reason to come near to us.  Our sin, our rebellion against God and the wickedness we share in our hearts with all of fallen humanity has separated us from God.  Sin cannot be in the presence of a holy God, and since the first sin of Adam and Eve when God forbid them from entering back into the Garden of Eden, sin has corrupted us, and no one deserves to have the Almighty Everlasting God be near them.

However, this exactly why we call the good news of Jesus GOOD NEWS!  No one deserves to be in God’s presence, and because of sin no one could be in the real presence of God and live.  So instead, out of the eternal riches of His love and grace and mercy, God came to us.  God put on human flesh being born a man.  The Son of God Jesus Christ brought the Kingdom of Heaven near, and through the sacrifice of His own perfect life on the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the full wrath of God and paid for each and every one of our sins that stood in between us and the presence of God.

When Christ breathed His last and gave up His life, the veil in the Temple that hid the presence of God was torn in two; symbolizing that salvation had been provided, that sin had been paid for and that by faith alone in Christ and His death and resurrection, God now makes His home in our hearts!

Ephesians 2:13 says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”  Think about that my friends.  Jesus didn’t hesitate to endure the crucifixion you and I should have suffered and die the death we earned with our own sin.  Out of His great love for us, He endured even death on a cross like a criminal so you and I could be saved and restored to God.  Jesus is perfectly faithful to the very end, so when Jesus promises in Matthew 28, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” He means it.  He is with you.  He couldn’t be closer, especially when He feels farthest away.

May the peace of God’s true presence be with you, as you remember that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow.  Amen.