“Because God is ever-present, He is always with me.”–Bill Bright
When people look for comfort in the Bible, they often go to passages like Psalm 23 or Psalm 139. When we are afraid, we often want a “comfy, fuzzy” God that will wrap us up like a big blanket and protect us from our fears. Yet later, we feel stifled by His closeness and ever-attentiveness.
Ever since the Garden, we have been running from God while in our sin. We want Him around when WE want Him around, on our schedule. We almost think to ourselves, “No Jesus, this is my time. You can’t be here. Now is when I do what I want. Now is my night out, my day off!” Sounds silly when I say out loud?
Psalm 22 is familiar to us: Jesus quoted verse 1 while on the cross, yet strangely enough I find comfort in its words. Hebrew poetry has this beautiful richness to it, this tapestry of paradox and contradiction. David writes alternately of loneliness and being sustained, of helplessness and comfort, of feeling trapped, then feeling freed. Embrace the mystery of God’s presence.
Psalm 78:32-39 is still a remarkable commentary on our hamster wheel of obedience. Read the passage over and over; follow the cycle of sin and repentance.–Ouch! We know we shouldn’t, but we want to, so we do. Flip over to Romans 7:15-20 and commiserate with Paul for a moment.
Now I’m going to hit you with something shocking: God still loves you! My mother still says, “I may not like you, but I still love you.” It’s about time we start thinking of God as the coolest friend we have. We do all this stuff that makes Him angry. We don’t talk to Him, we lie to His face, and still He wants to hang out with us!! Okay, so He hangs around a little too much, like some overbearing older brother (trust me, I was one!), but He is always looking out for us, taking care of us.
Without getting “WWJD” crazy, I think we should “plan to hang with God” today. I will admit that I talk to God on a regular, almost hourly basis about everything: bad drivers, my aching feet, pretty sunsets, etc. Don’t be afraid to get real with the Man. Hey, He already knows what you’ve done and what you’re thinking. God desires intimacy with you: so let Him “in to me to see”!
