How near is He?

There are so many great promises from God in His word: confess and you will be forgiven; ask and it will be given to you; and let’s not forget that He is for us and not against us.

All these great promises, and yet we forget one of the most amazing things about any of these promises. They all come from one amazing, simple, but powerful promise from God found in Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV): "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

How do they all come from this promise? Well, I am so glad you asked. God says, "seek me, and you will find me." Also, we can look in Matthew to see a very similar promise that says ask and you shall receive; knock, and it will be opened; and seek, and you shall find. All these promises originate from a very common core: that God is nearby.

Jeremiah 23:23-24 says, "Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 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."

God is so near that we cannot hide from Him. He is so close that when a sinner repents, He is there to forgive instantly. He is so close that when we are broken-hearted, He is there to comfort us. He is so close that when we help the least of these, it is as if we are helping Him directly.

God is in your neighbor. He is in that person, crying out for love. He is in us. Not only do we need to look for God in His word, but we also need to look for Him in one another because He is there.

"When two or three gather in my name, there I am amongst them," Matthew 18:20. "What you have done for the least of these, you have done for me," Matthew 25:40. God wants us to be together because He is there in it, when we seek Him we find Him, why else do you think He said in the Old Testament to gather in His honor at several different feast to do forever? 

Because it is about us gathering in His name; even the New Testament says this in Hebrews 10:25: "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

We are His hands and feet; we are made for Him to love Him and one another. See, when Jeremiah says to seek with all your heart, he is saying exactly that: seek with the love of God, and you will find Him. Let us be encouraged in one another that He is here, and let us love one another because He is near.

Pastor Scott Acklin ministers at New Fire Ministries.