On this Monday afternoon, or whatever day and time this finds you, I want to remind you that God longs to be near to you! Scripture points to this truth over and over again. In fact, the entire Gospel is the story of God longing to be with His creation, which is why He sent Jesus down to Earth to save us from our sinful ways and have a way to dwell with Him now on Earth and for the rest of forever in Heaven (Talk about a partaaaay!! Thank you Jesus!) But today, I just want to point out 2 scriptures that clearly show God’s desire to be near to us, but aren’t typically talked about when pointing to this truth.
The first scripture that shows us that God longs to be near to us is found in Mark 6, in the account of Jesus walking on water. The story goes that Jesus had his disciples get in a boat and make their way to a city on the other side of the water while he stays back to pray. Then, Jesus sees His disciples struggling to move the boat due to the wind, so when he finishes praying, he goes to meet them at sea. Mark 6:48 reads, “He saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Very early in the morning he came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them.”
Usually, my attention goes straight to the fact that Jesus was walking on the sea because WHAT! That is amazing! But, tucked within the miracle of Jesus walking on water is the truth that Jesus wanted to be near his people. The very last part of Mark 6:48 states that Jesus wanted to pass by his disciples. He WANTED to be near to his friends! Now I don’t know why Jesus wanted to pass by them. Did he want to help them steer the boat against the wind, say hi, or just be in their presence? Maybe all the above? Regardless of the reason, Jesus had the desire to pass by his disciples.
Not only did he pass by, he actually got into the boat with them (Mark 6:51). Jesus, who could have walked across the water unseen and unbothered all the way to his destination, chose to get into the boat with his disciples. He wanted to be with them! I believe that Jesus does the same with us. When we are in the midst of our everyday life and struggles, Jesus is finding ways to pass by us and get in our presence.
The second scripture that points to God wanting to be near to us is John 4:40. This passage is found at the end of the story about the Samaritan woman at the well. This passage recounts the moment that Jesus traveled through Samaria and met a Samaritan woman at a well and explained that he is living water, able to satisfy and fulfill us. The Samaritan woman told her community about Jesus and they followed her to the well to meet him.
This story has a lot to unpack and teaches many lessons, but right in the middle of all these important and beautiful lessons is another reminder that God longs to be near to us. John 4:40 states, “So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.” Jesus was only passing through Samaria when he met these people (John 4:3-4), yet when they invited him to stay he accepted their offer. These people weren’t perfect and I’m sure their request for Jesus to stay with them wasn’t eloquent. None of that mattered to Jesus. He just wanted to be near to them and responded with a yes when they asked.
Just like with the Samaritans, Jesus wants to and does accept our invitation to be near to us! When we reach out to him, he has time to spend with us. We don’t have to be perfect or sinless to invite him to spend time with us. He wants to be close to us even though we struggle and mess up.
No matter where you look in scripture, you’ll find evidence of God being present and finding ways to be near to His creation. God wants to be near to YOU. He longs to be a part of your day and is finding ways to pass by you. Will you take a page out of the Samaritan’s book with me and extend God an invitation to stay with you today? It’s an invitation He won’t want to refuse because He loves being near to you!
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