Just about every husband out there ought to know that his wife needs intimacy. Being positionally or physically close is not the same as having a meaningful relationship. The two can sometimes be lying on the same bed and yet be miles apart inside.
The same is true with our relationship to God. Some people say that they feel close to God when they surround themselves with nature. Others like togo into magnificent cathedrals or humble country churches. Still others will take a quiet walk in a serene location, and list could go on. But an omnipresent God is not limited to or found in any one place. The Bible says in Acts 17 that “in Him we live and move and have our being.” We don’t enter into His presence when we walk into a forest or a church, etc. He’s everywhere, and His closeness is available at all times.
The Bible instructs us to “draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you.” (James 4:8) That doesn’t mean we travel some physical distance to draw near to Him who in reality is only a whisper away. It speaks of drawing near relationally.
Just as there are many men (and women) who think they have a successful marriage simply because they managed to get a ring on someone’s finger, there are also many people who think the are OK with God because they went through some religious ceremony like baptism or confirmation class.
Tragically, in the same way that many men are surprised by a wife who one day says ,”I feel like I don’t even know you,” there are also many people who will be shocked to hear the awful words of Jesus on the last day of judgement, “Depart from me, you worker of lawlessness. I never knew you.” But it will be too late then to try to patch things up.
In John 17:3 Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Do you understand what it means to “know” God? Do you have a relationship with Him that is real?
It isn’t something that anyone can do for you. You’ve got to develop that relationship yourself.
In Acts 17, it teaches that we should “reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.”
Hebrews 11:6 says that “He who comes to God must first believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
In Jeremiah 29:13 God says, “You shall search for me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.”
Jesus said, “He who seeks shall find.” Seek the Lord today. He’s closer than you think.