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And Yet
A man sat across from me recently and told me he had always felt distant from God.
After a deep breath, he put both hands on his head.
“I’ve never had a relationship with God. I’ve always felt distant from Him. And yet... I know something’s missing in my life.”
He paused.
“But I have no idea what to do.”
I haven’t been able to get those two words out of my head.
And yet.
There was something in his and yet.
A longing.
I’m not sure I know God...and yet I think He’s real.
I’m not sure I know how to find Him...and yet something inside me wants to.
I’m not sure I can get there. I’m not even sure I really want to try...and yet, deep down, I believe I can.
And maybe I should.
I wonder how many of us are living somewhere in the and yet.
Some of us appear to have it all together. Others of us have spent years fighting, questioning, wrestling and trying to negotiate with God.
And yet...
God is near.
He always has been.
He abides.
And He isn't reluctantly waiting for us to figure out how to find Him. He loves us. He wants us.
“We love because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” — James 4:8
Maybe the distance we feel isn't because God has moved.
If I really believe that God created me, that He created everything I see, that He is actually God, then eventually I have to do something with that belief.
The question becomes:
What do I do with it?
How do I find Him?
How do I know Him?
And maybe the harder question:
Do I really want to?
Because I’m not talking about simply believing there is a God.
I'm not talking about going to church, checking the box, throwing some money in the offering, supporting a missionary or two and trying to be a decent person.
I'm talking about truly believing God.
Trusting Him.
Loving Him.
Wanting Him.
Surrendering to Him.
Letting God actually be God.
Jesus said the greatest commandment wasn't simply to believe that God exists:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” — Matthew 22:37
All.
Not the part that fits comfortably inside the life I've already decided to live.
And that's where this gets uncomfortable.
Because I think a lot of us want God close.
We just want to determine how close is close enough.
Close enough to comfort me.
Close enough to protect my family.
Close enough to answer my prayers.
Close enough to bless my plans.
Close enough to get me to heaven.
But not so close that He starts changing everything.
I'll draw near, Lord...
as long as I get to set the perimeter.
I'll decide what I surrender.
I'll decide what I keep.
I'll decide how much time You get.
I'll decide which parts of my life are off limits.
I'll decide how much Your Word is allowed to interfere with the life I've built.
And somehow...
I'll call that closeness.
But that's not the relationship Jesus is inviting us into.
And here's what I don't want us to miss: God's invitation isn't driven by His disappointment in us. It's driven by His love for us.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8
He didn't wait for us to clean ourselves up.
He didn't wait until we understood everything.
He didn't wait until we finally got serious enough about Him.
He loved us first.
Scripture tells us that as followers of Jesus, we are foreigners here. Aliens. This world isn't our home.
We spend our lives trying to make ourselves comfortable in a place we were never meant to call home.
What would happen if we actually believed God is who He says He is?
Not just believed in Him.
Believed Him.
What if we stopped negotiating the perimeter?
What if instead of asking, “How much of my life does God really need?” we started asking:
“God, what part of my life isn't Yours?”
Maybe you're reading this and you've never really had a relationship with God.
Maybe you've always felt distant.
Maybe you've gone to church your entire life and something is still missing.
Maybe you've been hurt by the church.
Maybe you've spent years wrestling with Him.
Maybe you're not even sure you want to try.
And yet...
There it is.
That little longing.
That quiet voice inside you saying:
There has to be more.
Don't ignore it.
Because maybe the question isn't:
“How do I get God to come closer?”
He's already near. He abides.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” — Jeremiah 29:13
Maybe the question is:
“Who decided how close I would allow Him to get?”
And maybe today is the day to tear down the perimeter.
Because the God you're wondering how to find has already shown you how much He wants you.
He gave you Jesus.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son...” — John 3:16
WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM isn’t a casual agreement that Jesus exists—it is a surrender so complete that everything else in my life takes its place behind knowing Him, loving Him, trusting Him and obeying Him…no matter what it costs me.
wanna talk about it?
oh by the way...Jesus is enough
