DAILY DEVOTIONAL – March 17, 2020
“Social Distancing”
Prayer: Almighty God, You are not a God who is far off. In Your mercy and love for us You have come near so that we might know Your forgiveness and salvation in the blood of Your Son Jesus. Help us to trust and rest in Your real presence with us each day Lord. Amen.
Scripture: Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Devotional – “Social Distancing”
One of the characteristics of God that scripture reveals to us is God’s omnipresence. The word presence, or to be present, of course means “existing or occurring in a particular place.” The prefix “omni” means “all” or “of all things”. Put the two together and omnipresent means “existing in all places.”
Some of the most beautiful passages in Scripture are ones that describe how massive God is.
Jeremiah 23:23-24, “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”
Psalm 139:7-12
“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.”
By simply being God, God is always present everywhere, and as David said, there is no place we can go where He is not, and yet, God has come even closer to us. How does an omnipresent God become even more present?
Galatians 4 says, “when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Abba Father carries the meaning of a father who has a close and intimate relationship with his children; one that creates the most childlike trust, closeness and adoration of a son or daughter. That is the kind of closeness He has with us and that we have with Him, whether we realize it or not, and whether we live in that closeness or not. In giving His Son to die and rise again under the curse of our sin, the curse of God’s law that we rebelled against and broke, God has put the very Spirit of His Son inside of our hearts in baptism and has made us sons and daughters of God along with Christ Himself; even in Christ Himself.
It is with this confidence of what God has done for us and to us in Christ, that Hebrews tells us in chapter 4 to, “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We are able to draw near to the very throne of God, because God has brought His Kingdom to us in Christ, because he has come near to us.
God could not come any closer, and still we find those times when He feels so distant. I assure you friends, it is not the omnipresent God of all that has moved. It is we who have moved away from Him in our thoughts, desires and intentions. It is our proximity to our ever present God that gives us purpose and meaning in life. When we feel lost or alone it is because we have gone astray, not because we have entered any place where God is any less present.
The progress of our discipleship and faith, the progress of our lives lived with true contentment and success, is directly connected to the proximity in which we live to God in Christ and in His Word. He is the only way we know life, love, peace, victory, hope, joy, encouragement and all good things. As Jesus said very clearly in John 15, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
You know friends, during this time we are all forced to parse and scale our lives back a bit because of the Corona virus, we have a wonderful opportunity to refocus our hearts, our minds, our faith and our families on what matters the most in life. Over and over again in Scripture, we see Jesus separating Himself from everyone, even His disciples, to be close with and be in fellowship and in prayer with His Abba Father. So, seeing that Jesus Himself practiced “social distancing”, consider how you and your friends and families might praise the Lord and grow closer to Him in this time of “social-distancing” we have be given. With so many restaurants, bars, movie theatres and other social entertainment avenues closing down temporarily, many distractions are being moved out of our way. We have an opportunity to make progress in our proximity to the God who has come near to us.
Thanks for joining me for another time of devotion in God’s word, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
