God is near

We read in Psa 148:18-19 “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.”

Further promises of God’s providential care are before us today.  We have a Father God who is near to ALL who call on Him.  So often God is portrayed as being distant, aloof or an angry man with a big stick ready to smite anyone who would dare step off the ‘straight and narrow’.  Nothing could possibly be further from the loving Father of which we read over and again throughout the Bible. 

Jesus’ answer to Philip when he asked Him to show the disciples the Father was simply and yet profoundly “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:8-9).  In other words, Jesus is the exact representation of His Father which is also confirmed in Heb 1:3 where it says “Jesus is the exact representation of God’s glory” or as the NKJV renders it “the express image of His person.”

We can see clearly from these verses if we can’t see an attribute in Jesus, it won’t exist in God the Father.  Jesus modelled compassion which most often resulted in a miracle taking place, love for everyone with whom He had contact (with the exception of the religious people), and a willingness to stop and minister to the person in front of Him irrespective of their socio-economic status, ethnicity, education or any other factor.

We return to where we began today. We only need call on Him and God will listen, save (literally liberate, deliver and give victory to) and fulfil (fashion, accomplish, make) the desires of those who reach out to Him in truth.