Topic: God Is Close, and He Understands [RICK WARREN Devotional 11 October 2021]

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God Is Close, and He Understands

BY RICK WARREN — OCTOBER 11, 2021
FROM CONNECTING WITH GOD: THE LORD’S PRAYER

“The LORD is near to all who call on him.”

Psalm 145:18 (NIV)God isn’t far away. In fact, it’s just the opposite. He’s as close as your next heartbeat.

He’s right there with you every moment. The Bible says, “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” (Acts 17:27 NIV).

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

Here are three truths about your heavenly Father:

He is never too busy for you. Sometimes you get too busy for God. But he never gets too busy for you. That’s the kind of love he has for you. Psalm 145:18 says, “The Lord is near to all who call on him” (NIV). Every time you call, God is near. He thinks about you a lot more than you think about him. He thought about you before you were born and thinks about you every moment of every day.

He loves to meet your needs. He doesn’t do it begrudgingly—he loves it! Matthew 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) Simply enjoy the fact that God loves giving good gifts to you.

He is sympathetic to your hurts. If you’re going through something tough this week, you may need this verse: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18 NIV). God is sympathetic. He’s not standing on the sidelines. He’s present in your pain.

God is close to you, and he understands what you’re going through. Turn to him; he’s already there waiting for you!

• What do you need to call on God for today?
• Why does God sometimes feel far away during life’s most difficult struggles?
• What changes do you need to make in your life so you are not too busy for God?