I desire nearness with God. I desire to be close with him, to know Him, and to capture a glimpse of His love for us. We pray things like “Jesus, draw close to us. Jesus, bless them. Jesus, be with him. Jesus, speak to her heart.” Our prayers are so often an invitation, as if God needs one (I’m sure he appreciates it). When we ask for him to ‘come near’, is it so easy to forget that He is already near? In Scripture He tells us “…and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). When a child is in the womb, the mother is literally all around. The child is safe and close, surrounded by all that the mother is. The child doesn’t have to seek the mother, go looking for her or do anything to earn the closeness that already is.
Don’t you agree that it is actually us who have to draw near? It is us who have to remind ourselves to open up to God. Our requests and invitations are actually just a small echo of what God is already desiring for us. He desires so much to be with us, that the grave itself was defeated in his path.
During Easter, we remember the entirety of what Christ did for us, what he continues to do for us, jam-packed it into four days. But then the Church says to us ‘Easter’ doesn’t just stop at Easter. During the last 7ish weeks or so of the Easter season (I’m not kidding, we ARE still celebrating Easter) this is one of my (many) favourite aspects of God’s love that we have celebrated. His desire for nearness with us.
"If we know his heart, we know it was the dream inside of Him before it was ever in us. His desire for nearness started there and is just spilling on us, so any degree of my own hunger is only a reflection of His to be close to us." – Kalley Heiligenthal
Kalley is a Christian worship leader and song writer and she explains some of the behind-the- scenes thoughts of writing an album.
Any thought of Him is our delayed response to His beckoning for just one moment of connection. The magical thing is, it isn’t magical. Our response to him is grace-filled and thought out (by Him, of course).
"I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me I said, 'Here am I, here am I’.” Isaiah 65:1.
We didn’t even have to seek him and he revealed himself to us.
As we finish our journey through Easter, let us carry this thought with us. Let’s continue to be more aware of His presence, because he’s already so aware of ours. Let His nearness bring you life and a renewed hope in our God who will go lengths for your salvation.
Jesus, I pray that as the Easter season comes to a close, we will draw near to you as we live out your resurrection in our daily lives.
