Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
9:00am & 10:45am,
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

God Is With You, Closer Than Ever

“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!..If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” –  Psalm 139:7, 9-10.

Viewing the news coverage, watching Youtube videos and reading online articles on the devastation of Hurricane Michael was in a word heartbreaking. From October 10th until today, I have heard stories of people whose lives have been altered or shattered. If only we had a solution, but we don’t. That is, we don’t have an earthly solution. The solution for dealing with the storms of life is knowing that God is with us. And when God is with us, that makes all the difference.  

Psalm 34:18 has never rang more true than it does right now.  It says: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” There are no words to describe what it feels like to have God near. But it is tangible. It is real. Although we can’t see or feel or touch Him, He is close, very close. So when you feel alone in a storm or trial, you are not alone at all. God is with you and He loves you. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. When we are at our weakest, God is our strength to begin anew.  When we are at our lowest, God gives hope to rise again.  When we are at our saddest, God is working with us. We cannot see everything God is doing in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, but we can trust that God is with us, that He is in full control and that our story is not fully written yet.

God does not have to remove us from a situation to deliver us from it. We know that our God is Sovereign and He has all power and is able to do any and all things. We can look at creation and ourselves as proof of that.

John Ortberg in his book God Is Closer Than You Think, said: “The greatest moment of your life is now. Not because it’s pleasant or happy or easy, but because this moment is the only moment you’ve got. Every past moment is irretrievably gone. It’s never coming back. If you live there, you lose your life…This moment is God’s irreplaceable gift to you.” 

Isaiah 41:10 sums it up: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

God is near, we simply need to draw nearer to Him. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. In what ways have you felt close to God? 
  2. What can we do this week to draw closer to God? 

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