Encouragement: Jesus is Near!
The
Wednesday Word
Jesus is Very Near
-by preacher D. G. Miles McKee
“The LORD is near unto them
Jesus is Very Near
-by preacher D. G. Miles McKee
“The LORD is near unto them
that
are of a broken heart; and saves
such
as be of a contrite spirit”
-Psalm
34:18
Do
you ever feel that the Lord’s face is hidden from you? You say, “I
cannot sense Him. I can´t seem to recognize His
presence. “
We´ve all been there…if you haven´t, just wait a while.
In the meantime, here’s some good news; your not being able to sense Him doesn’t mean that the Lord is not near. In reality, the Lord is never nearer than when we feel and think we are at a loss to discover Him.
One old time preacher said it like this, “God is never nearer to His people than when they cannot see His face; He is never closer than when they do not hear His voice.”
He is there even when it seems that all hope has been knocked out of the ball park.
Look at Hagar, she left Ishmael under the shrubs, and said, "Let me not see the death of the child" (Genesis 21:16). What happened then? God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water" (Genesis 21:19). The Lord had been there all the time.
And what about Abraham? He "Lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns" (Genesis 22:13). The Lord had been there all the time.
Again, consider Mary Magdalene. Remember her? On the resurrection morning, she was the first at the tomb. She was the one who, when she discovered the stone had been moved, ran and fetched Peter and John. After the two disciples had concluded their investigations of the vacated tomb they returned home, but Mary, remained. She had lost her Saviour. She couldn’t find Him. She was distraught, distressed and despairing. She wept. Someone had taken Jesus’ body. Poor, precious Mary. She didn’t realize that, although she could neither see nor feel the Lord’s presence, Jesus was very near.
In John 20:14-15, a man came into the picture and she supposed he was the gardener, so she pleaded with him to reveal where the body had been taken. But this was no gardener. This was the creator of the Universe. Then He said to her, ‘Mary’ and she turned herself, recognized Him and said, ‘Rabboni’, which is to say, Master. Even when she could not sense, feel or discover His presence, He had been there.
Mary illustrates the nearness of the Lord even when we don’t know where He is.
Also, consider this, Jesus held His first post-resurrection conversion with a woman. But not just any woman. Here Jesus gave primacy to a woman who had been a notorious sinner and demoniac (Mark 16:9). What wonderful matchless grace. Her sins were gone. Jesus had paid for them with His own blood. Far from holding her sins against her, Jesus made her the first preacher of the great and glorious facts of the resurrection and ascension (John 20:17).
“Days are filled with sorrow and care,
Hearts are lonely and drear.
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.
“Cast your care on Jesus today,
Leave your worry and fear.
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.
“Troubled soul, the Saviour can feel
Every heartache and tear.
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.”
And that’s the Gospel Truth!
We´ve all been there…if you haven´t, just wait a while.
In the meantime, here’s some good news; your not being able to sense Him doesn’t mean that the Lord is not near. In reality, the Lord is never nearer than when we feel and think we are at a loss to discover Him.
One old time preacher said it like this, “God is never nearer to His people than when they cannot see His face; He is never closer than when they do not hear His voice.”
He is there even when it seems that all hope has been knocked out of the ball park.
Look at Hagar, she left Ishmael under the shrubs, and said, "Let me not see the death of the child" (Genesis 21:16). What happened then? God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water" (Genesis 21:19). The Lord had been there all the time.
And what about Abraham? He "Lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns" (Genesis 22:13). The Lord had been there all the time.
Again, consider Mary Magdalene. Remember her? On the resurrection morning, she was the first at the tomb. She was the one who, when she discovered the stone had been moved, ran and fetched Peter and John. After the two disciples had concluded their investigations of the vacated tomb they returned home, but Mary, remained. She had lost her Saviour. She couldn’t find Him. She was distraught, distressed and despairing. She wept. Someone had taken Jesus’ body. Poor, precious Mary. She didn’t realize that, although she could neither see nor feel the Lord’s presence, Jesus was very near.
In John 20:14-15, a man came into the picture and she supposed he was the gardener, so she pleaded with him to reveal where the body had been taken. But this was no gardener. This was the creator of the Universe. Then He said to her, ‘Mary’ and she turned herself, recognized Him and said, ‘Rabboni’, which is to say, Master. Even when she could not sense, feel or discover His presence, He had been there.
Mary illustrates the nearness of the Lord even when we don’t know where He is.
Also, consider this, Jesus held His first post-resurrection conversion with a woman. But not just any woman. Here Jesus gave primacy to a woman who had been a notorious sinner and demoniac (Mark 16:9). What wonderful matchless grace. Her sins were gone. Jesus had paid for them with His own blood. Far from holding her sins against her, Jesus made her the first preacher of the great and glorious facts of the resurrection and ascension (John 20:17).
“Days are filled with sorrow and care,
Hearts are lonely and drear.
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.
“Cast your care on Jesus today,
Leave your worry and fear.
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.
“Troubled soul, the Saviour can feel
Every heartache and tear.
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.”
And that’s the Gospel Truth!
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