To Be Near...

In my first reading of this book, the focus is on being near to God. Being near to God, and to claim to love God means more than just a deep respect or admiration. It's realizing that God is the Good Shepherd, and he is Our Shepherd. He is so personal and intimate, it's hard to describe our walk with Him in words. The part of this reading that sticks out to me currently is this:

"We can spend much of our lives without that closeness, sometimes desolate and forsaken. But if we know God's nearness, we know that in those moments of alienation nothing is so desirable as his return. What we seek, we find only in our return - he is near once again. Those moments, beyond description, are the great moments of our lives."

I believe what he is talking about is more than just a spiritual high. I think being Near Unto God is much more than the warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you sing your favorite worship song. Too often I fear students in my youth ministry are looking for the next spiritual high. In fact, I know they are. They tell me they are. They've been trained (hopefully not by me, but let's be real, I'm sure I've got some blame to take) to seek the next 'mountain top' experience. But we can't live on the mountain top. We live in the valleys, in the plains, wandering, on a journey. We need to recognize God's hand in our lives even when we may not 'feel' him.

It's my nephews birthday today. He is nine. I'm sure if I ask him later tonight when I see him, how does it feel to be nine, he will probably respond 'not much different'. The fact is that he is nine, despite if he feels nine or not. The fact is that God is ever-present, despite if we feel him or not. And yes, there may be times in our lives when we truly feel the nearness of God in our lives. Those are incredible moments of joy, and I treasure them with all of my heart. But let us learn to be Near Unto God in the valleys as well as the mountaintops; as we're wandering and while we're resting.