Tag: Near to God

Near to God

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

On more than one occasion I have had friends and people I barely know ask me how I am still standing and able to praise God after all the challenges life has thrown at me. That generally brings to mind Job’s wife who counseled him with the unwise words to just curse God and die. (Job 2:9) Instead of turning away from God, my challenges have pushed me closer to Him. There is no place I would rather be when the doctors give me more “bad news” than pressing into God so that I know that He knows exactly how I am feeling and that I need Him.

I am not special, but like many of you, I am a walking testimony to God’s grace. I was born again in my 20’s, also got married a few months later and began my adventure of military moves. God was with me in each new place. I shared in yesterday’s post about not liking change. Twenty-five military moves with different bases and different houses didn’t change my mind on that but rather cemented it. Nevertheless, God provided jobs when I needed one, new friends in each new place and always a church to keep me centered. I was born with asthma and until the pregnancy with my third child, I had not suffered any symptoms since before my college days. With Steven, I was hospitalized several times because of extreme asthma episodes. But God brought me through and then we moved to Maine. I stayed sick a lot there, with pneumonia. I should say that my mother died shortly before we moved to Maine and that emotional stress didn’t help. Again, God comforted and helped me each time I was hospitalized. Fast forward to 2015 when I had a stroke. Again, God was right beside me as I struggled to talk (I could only stammer) and as I went through rehab to learn how to walk again. I’m not going to lie. It was hard but I literally felt God’s presence and His Spirit telling me that I could do it, whatever I needed to do. Three months after my stroke I was miraculously back in my classroom part time and ended the year as a full-time teacher again.

Life isn’t easy for anyone. The road has bumps, unexpected twists and some curves that come up fast with no warning. But God is in the driver’s seat and I have the attitude that I am along for the ride so I may as well trust Him and enjoy the ride. I am here today to declare that God saves, heals and uses wounded people who are not perfect. I am one of those and I am blessed to know that as I draw near to God, He draws near to me. Together, we make a formidable team and I bless His Name that I am still here to write this blog and tell you about His love, mercy and grace.

What has God done for you? Have you pressed in closer to Him as the days get more challenging? I have found that the way to be a survivor is to trust in God. He knows the past, the present and the future and He hasn’t changed His plan for your life. All He does is for our good always in all ways.

Near to God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song, Video8 Comments

I have been pressing into God lately, mostly because of life changes but also because I want a closer relationship with Him. I have had some physical challenges lately that have let me know that I need to depend on God or I just won’t make it through all of this.

This scripture is comforting to me…He is already near me when I call. He is not a distant God that I have to yell to be heard. He is right there all the time whenever I want to talk to Him.

Talking to God is like second nature to me. The doctor says my spine might collapse so I can’t lift over five pounds. I talked to God. The same doctor says that I have a better than average chance of breaking my hip in the next year, especially if I fall. So, before I get up to walk around, I talk to God and ask Him to keep me upright and stable. My neurologist is sending me to a neurosurgeon because he says that I need spine surgery. You better believe I am talking to God about this one! In fact, I think God and I have a constant conversation going and instead of this being odd or new, it is actually commonplace. I used to talk to Him a lot about our children and their needs and my problems disciplining them. They are all grown, and now I am older, so most of my conversations deal with medical issues that God knows about but that I need to address the issue to the only One who can truly help me persevere.

I hope and pray that you have daily conversations with God, all day long, just as if your best friend were there in the room with you. He is God and He is to be adored and praised and lifted up. But He is also the friend who is close by and also available when I call out to Him for wisdom, relief from pain or safety as I walk from room to room. I really enjoy talking to God because I can be honest with Him and tell Him anything, including that I am unhappy with the situation, even as I ask Him for His grace to get through it. Tell God what you’re thinking and then step out of His way so He can work in your life. He is as close as your next breath and He desires to bless you and to let you know how much He loves you.

Draw Near to God-Russ Taft and Leigh Nash

Being Near to God

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

Nearness That Reshapes Us

What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever been?

Maybe it was a quiet cathedral, stained glass filling the room with colors, or a forest alive with bird songs and dancing leaves. Wherever your place is, have you ever wished you could stay there forever—surrounded by so much beauty and safety that your soul can finally breathe?

David prays that way in Psalm 27:4:

“I have asked the Lord for one thing,
this is what I desire:
to live in the Lord’s house all my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
and to contemplate in his temple.” (NET)

For ancient Israel, Jerusalem’s temple marked the center of their world—the place where Heaven and Earth meet. That idea first appears in Genesis, in the garden of Eden, where God walked with humanity and provided everything necessary—a place with no suffering, no threats, no death.

David’s longing isn’t for a spectacular building but for closeness with God—the kind of nearness that reshapes a person and brings true peace.

When Jesus arrives, he moves that Heaven-and-Earth space from Jerusalem’s temple into human hearts. People become the temple where God dwells. Divine beauty and peace are no longer tied to one city or structure; they’re found wherever God’s will is done “on Earth as in Heaven.”

Today, ask: What do I want most? David’s answer exposes humanity’s deepest desire—to be safe, loved, and at peace with our creator.

My Thoughts

Who doesn’t like to feel safe and at peace? When I became a Christian over five decades ago, for the first time, I felt loved and welcomed, at peace with the person God created me to me. I have had ups and downs in my walk with the Lord, yet I continue to return to that same place of peace. It isn’t a building, a monument or a beautiful part of nature. It’s the quiet place I find within myself when I focus on my relationship with God and how close I know that He is to me. He is right there, in my whispered prayers and in the prayers that I don’t say but that are in my heart. God hears and moves closer to me, just when I need Him. This is my piece of heaven on earth.