God Is Closer Than You Think or Feel
By Rick Warren

“The LORD is near to all who call on him.” Psalm 145:18 (NIV)

God is not as far away as the furthest star. He’s as close as your next heartbeat. He’s right there with you every moment. The Bible says in Acts 17:27, “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us” (NIV). 

You might feel like God is a million miles away. But your feelings and reality don’t always match—we all know that’s true. The truth is, God is with you right now.

Because he is a close Father:

God is never too busy for you. That’s how close he is. That’s the kind of love that he has. Psalm 145:18 says, “The LORD is near to all who call on him” (NIV). Every time you call, God is near. You’re never going to get a busy signal! He thinks about you a lot more than you think about him. He thought about you before you were born. He thinks about you every moment of every day. The truth is that too many times, we get too busy for God. But he never gets too busy for us. 

God loves to meet your needs. He doesn’t do it begrudgingly. He loves taking care of his children and giving them the things they didn’t even know they needed. Mathew 7:11 says, “If you . . . know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (NIV). You can enjoy the fact that God enjoys giving good gifts to you.

God is sympathetic to your hurts. Some of you are going through something tough this week, and you need this verse: “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed” (Psalm 34:18 NLT). Whatever is weighing you down, you can give it to God and let him carry it for you. He is always ready to comfort and help you.

God is close to you, and he understands. Turn to him, talk to him, and trust him for every need you have today. 

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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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