Meditation for March 24, 2020
“If God seems far away, who moved?”
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8 NKJV)
It is a good time now (as it is always) to seek after the Lord through reading the Bible and praying to Him in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ! Drawing close, and staying close to God provides overcoming strength to keep on “keeping on!”
As a young man, my developmental years were spent in a church with my family that was a “country church”. There were a lot of good people in the church body and more good people in the community where I lived. Many of those people, in addition to my family, spoke into my life and helped me grow in my personal faith. One such person was a man by the name of John Tharp. Brother Tharp was not a typical “worshipper” in the church where I grew up, but, he was a very profound thinker. I do not know who originated the statement, “If God seems far away, who moved”, but, it was Brother John Tharp that impressed it upon me. A dear sister from my church created a poster with that message on it and the poster was placed in a shadow box. As far as I know – over 50 years later – it is still there to remind worshippers of the need to seek after God in order to stay close to Him.
Some messages are enduring for a reason. As Christian believers, our faith is the most precious treasure we have on this earth. If God seems far away from you today, you can find Him in the Scriptures. Faith comes from reading and obeying the Word of God. Faith encourages us to pray, engaging the journey of faith for the glory of the Name of our God and of his Son, Jesus Christ.
It is my hope that a voice from my past – that of Brother John Tharp – will give you newfound inspiration and courage to face your day with God. Most importantly, I want God to come near to you today. I believe He will as you read His Word given to all of us, and as you pray to Him about your needs in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ.
