Close enough? #3

"The LORD is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Ps 34:18

Not one of us will be fully prepared [beforehand] for hard times. But the moment that the storm hits the boughs of our life God's presence [full of strength and comfort and reassurance] is with us. This is the closeness that intimacy brings. Times of intimacy are great and uplifting but somewhere deep in those moments they prepare us for those moments when we may tell ourselves that God feels distant.

When I fell in love with the woman who became my lovely wife, she was not a Christian. The only assurance that I had was that God's hand was upon her but this did not make it any easier. When you fall in love with someone who does not know Jesus Christ as their saviour it is painful; you know that this all consuming love you have for them cannot draw them into heaven and it hurts [it tears your heart apart].

Throughout this time I would pray for her but see no sign of God answering my prayers. This was hard; I would be in church worshipping with every ounce of strength I had left in me and yet God felt distant. Tears would roll down my cheeks every service. The strange this is that, looking back, I would say I felt closer to God at that time than at any other time in my life! How mad is that, but it is true; God is close to the broken hearted.

Little did I realise that while I was agonising over God's silence, Ruth was hearing and responding to the voice of God calling her name.