"Be not far from me..." Psalm 22:11
Our 20 week old, Charlotte, was aching from teething
and it seemed like nothing would calm her. We had tried everything, but she was
simply inconsolable. To make matters worse, my wife and I were on the road,
still three hours from home.
Normally, a car ride puts our tiny one fast to
sleep, but not on this occasion. We tried giving her a bottle; we offered her a
pacifier and a chew toy; if it was in her diaper bag of tricks, we had given it
a go. Brittany climbed into the backseat to attempt distracting Char with
videos on her phone. I tried turning the radio up to draw her attention away
from the pain, but nothing helped the situation. Charlotte's mouth was sore,
and our little fussy girl was letting us know all about it.
Finally, after we were nearly to our wit's end,
we discovered the one thing that brought her peace. My wife knelt down low and
gently placed her head on Char's chest. As she did she began whispering sweet
words of love to her. Our daughter then reached out and gripped B's hair,
pulling her mama in even closer.
I glanced over my shoulder to see what had
finally brought relief and the cessation of screams. A few moments later,
Charlotte was asleep. The only thing that brought consolation was having mama
come close – near enough to smell – tight enough to touch. By sensing her mother’s
presence, Char found comfort.
As I considered this scene on the remainder of
our drive, I was blown away by how similar it is to us. We have experienced
God's gifts and blessings. We know that He exists. We may even see Him active
in the lives of others, but sometimes we just long to know He is near to us.
Sometimes, it's not enough to think that He's in
the vicinity or that He’s around inspiring others.
We want to have Him close to us. We
long for Him to be near; we desire to find intimacy in our fellowship. We sing
songs about Jesus, read books about Him, listen to talks about Him and the power
of His Spirit, but all of these things are an insufficient substitute for Him.
Here's the deal: He is near – always! For
those in Christ have been given the Holy Spirit. Indeed, we have been
transformed into temples of the living God. The Spirit has been granted us for
our comfort, for guidance, for reminding us of the Word we've received. He is a
deposit, guaranteeing our eternal inheritance.
Yet, honestly, sometimes it feels as though He
has left us alone. We think that perhaps we've been abandoned to figure things
out for ourselves. And we just need to know He is near.
Well, we've not been given tangible locks of Jesus'
hair to grasp; Christ is not physically before us to reach after. However, we
have been left with some sweet, sweet words of love. In the Gospels, we see
that Jesus willingly took the cross in our place (John 10:18). There He absorbed the wrath of
God to atone for the sins of all who would trust upon Him. He faced Calvary
alone, where He was mocked, scorned, and rejected by men. But worst than this,
it was upon that old rugged cross that God the Father spiritually abandoned the
Son that He might endure the wages of the world’s sin.
See, Jesus was forsaken and afflicted so that
we never will be. He bore the cross, once and for all, so that we would never again
be separated from the love and fellowship of God (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 9:28,
Hebrews 10:10, 1 Peter 3:18, Romans 8:35-39). On that bloody tree, Jesus became
the curse for us; He who knew no sin became sin for us; indeed, it was our sins
that held Him there, for he was delivered up for trespasses (1 Peter 2:24,
Galatians 3:13, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 4:25). But when it was finished, our
ransom had been paid. We were reconciled to the Father through the perfect
sacrifice of the Son.
And the same spirit that raised Christ on that
first Easter Sunday now lives in those that He redeemed (Romans 8:11). He will
stick closer than a brother, for He will never leave us nor forsake us
(Proverbs 18:24, Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6). So, He is close - close as
can be. I mean, He lives within us, right? Yet we still struggle to sense His
nearness.
On the cross Jesus identified Himself as the
fulfillment of what Psalm 22 prophesied beforehand (Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46).
He came in the flesh, Immanuel, God with us. He came as the God-man; truly He
was the Righteous King that came to suffer, to bring many sons to glory
(Hebrews 2:10). Therefore, the afflicted have not been forgotten, and despite
how we may feel, we have never been
nor ever will be forsaken! He has not hidden Himself from His beloved. He has
heard and will hear our cries (Psalm 22:24)! Though our sin and doubt often
overwhelms and clouds our vision, we have been forgiven and adopted as co-heirs
with Christ!
Might we then fix the spiritual eyes of our
heart upon the cross. May it be to our souls a symbol of that glorious
transaction, where Christ took our sin and we gained His righteousness. If we
could just lift our gaze to see the emblem of our Savior's love, I think we'd
sense that He’s closer than we think. Let us not look at ourselves – our
abilities and strengths; may we not get caught glancing at our circumstances.
Rather, may we see Calvary and remember what it means, why it was necessary,
and how it has abolished every charge the enemy could ever bring against God’s
elect.
Let me close by sharing the third verse of
Fanny Crosby’s classic hymn, “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross.” May this be our
prayer today.
Near the cross! O Lamb of
God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
with its shadow o'er me.
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| Matt Fowler Assoc. Pastor of Missions & Students matt@nbchurch.info @fattmowler |
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