Hosanna Restoration Church

Can two people be in the same place and yet be very far apart? We all know that the answer to that question is a loud yes! Well, as I was visiting with the Lord and telling Him that I just needed to get closer to Him, I wondered if that was a proper request. After all, Christ dwells in me, so how could I get closer to Him? That was when He pointed out that we can be holding a person and yet be far away from them. The Bible tells us that a husband and wife become one, but we all know it is important to keep getting closer. Friends can be close and yet distant. The same goes for families and etc. So it stands to reason that a desire to be closer to the Lord makes all the sense in the world.

Of course we all know that God tells us to draw near to Him and yet I think we all have areas where we are near to God and other areas where we are guilty of drawing away from Him. If we are going to experience the fullness of salvation, we will need to get closer and closer to Him.

In the above scripture, it was Jesus who called for closeness with the disciples when He suggested that they get into the boat together and go to the other side? Just because He went to take a nap did not mean that He moved away from them or forgot about them. He remained as close as the mention of His name.

They, on the other hand, allowed the storm to move them far away from Him. Physically they were there, but spiritually they had bailed out and were sinking fast. Still, when they called, even though they were far away and filled with fear, Jesus drew near and brought peace in the storm.

After calming the storm, He explained their problem to them. They had allowed fear to move them away from Jesus when faith would have brought them close. Had they not been fearful, they never would have accused Him of not caring. Had they been close to Him, they would have simply informed Him of their need for His assistance.

Years ago in worship, we began to sing, “I’ve just got to get closer to you Lord. Every day in every way, in everything I do and everything I say. I’ve just got to get closer to you.” It was a nice song, and I really felt God’s presence, but I think I understand the song more fully today than I did the day God gave it to me. In fact He is the one who reminded me of the song and of the day it was created.

I believe the Lord is calling us all to cross over to the other side; to keep moving from glory to glory and faith to faith. As long as we stay close to Him we will be fine even if we go through some storms along the way. Oh yes, there will be storms! But be of good cheer!

We cannot fail if we stay close. And even if we do start to sink for one reason or another, we need only to call out to Him. For truly, we have a friend in Jesus. He is closer than we know and we can get closer than we ever imagined. He will give us that desire of our heart.