The nearness of God...

The nearness of God...

By Bobby Schuller, Crystal Cathedral Pastor

"But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge..."

- Psalm 73:28

Sometimes when we are completely alone, it teaches us that we are not alone at all, but that God is always with us. Something about the dark night of the soul teaches us that we serve and worship a wounded God; a God who has children that reject Him, don't believe in Him, and don't want Him. A God who wants to rescue a world that continues to destroy itself. A God who hates evil and watches how evil destroys his kids.

We serve a scarred Jesus, who still has His scars today. We serve a scarred and wounded healer in Jesus Christ who walks alongside us and says, "I am suffering, too. I'm wounded, too, and I'm with you."

When we emerge from the darkness, from the dark night of the soul, we become much stronger persons. We no longer rely so much on circumstance and on the thorns of this world, but we rely on an inner voice, a deep voice of love that says, "I'm with you, I love you, I care for you, and I will never leave you." Our souls are purged of many of the things that don't matter, and we start to focus on the things that really matter.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the tough times because it is in these times that I come to depend on you. Thank you for your never-ending and always-available love. Amen.