He's not just NEAR; He's HERE
He’s not just Near; He’s Here
Psalm 46:1 tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Maybe one of the Lord’s greatest promises to us is that He’d never leave us. I don’t think we can ever meditate on Hebrews 13:6b too much. In the Amplified Bible the second half of the verse reads,
“…for He God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax my hold on you)! Assuredly not!”
In a Greek lexicon you’ll see why the Amplified translates it with three, “I will nots.!” It’s called something like a triple imperative, meaning that what is said is said with great strength, or something to be shouted, not simply spoken. How great is that?
He said He’d never leave us. This was even true under the old covenant; He will still with His people Israel, even when they had rebelled. In that covenant, He had to distance Himself from them in that state of rebellion, but even then He had never left them, as He always had His eye upon them, waiting for repentant hearts so that He might rescue and deliver them speedily.
In this new covenant we now live in, He is most definitely “a very present help in trouble.” This is a vital truth to understand, that we must really develop our faith in. Without a revelation of this truth, we would and could go crazy. One of satan’s greatest lies today is that when we sin, God’s love leaves us, or at the least He stands apart or aloof from us, where He kind of lingers in disappointment or anger over us because of our wrong behavior or sinful acts. Not true!
That lie, if given in to, will do its best to deepen into our spirit until we’d actually begin to believe it, which would cause us to constantly live in a state of condemnation. Our joy is stolen, and we have no strength to go forward or pursue our dreams. After all, “we’re sinners!” Depression follows quickly and we focus on our mistakes instead of on Him, until we find ourselves downcast and thoroughly convinced that its simply no use even trying to live a Christian life, as we see ourselves as absolute hypocrites! This is WRONG thinking that only births destruction, distraction and death to us.
This is where Hebrews 8:9 in the Amplified Bible explodes into the scene, to show just how wrong that type of thinking is! Before reading this, remind yourself that all scripture is written by men as they were moved upon by the Holy Spirit! Our entire faith depends also upon this doesn’t it? GOD ordained these scriptures; they’re not the conceived ideas of any man. Hebrews 8:9 speaks of the difference between the old and new covenants. Its amazingly powerful to me, to think that of all the possible differences that might be mentioned, the ONE singular example that the Holy Spirit desires to share with all mankind is the following:
“It (the New Covenant) will NOT be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day when I grasped them by the hand to help and relieve them and to lead them out from the land of Egypt, for they did not abide in my agreement with them, and so I withdrew My favour and disregarded them, says the Lord.” (emphasis mine)
In verse 10 the Lord goes on to say that in this new covenant He is going to “imprint and engrave” His will and His desire, upon their hearts. They won’t have to seek out their Rabbis or consult scrolls, but they will only have to look as far as their own hearts, where His living word will begin to dwell and find a home. But see again the life-changing truth that verse 9 reveals; the new covenant will NOT BE LIKE the old, and particularly in one very astounding aspect.
In the old covenant, when man sinned, God did indeed, because He had to, withdraw from His people, taking with Him His favour and protection. However the stunning revelation He so longs for us to have now, is that even when we miss it, even when we fall, yes even when we rebel, He will not leave us or take His favour from us!
This is the very heart of today’s Christian message. This is the very centre of what is to be preached as the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has in His mercy and by His indisputable will, chosen, to be one with us, to never leave or forsake us! Yet today, the truth is that most believers, believe in contrast to this truth, that when they make a mistake, fall, sin, that God of course stands aloof from us, separates Himself from us. Surely they think, God will indeed withdraw His favor! Surely He turns His back on them…! Wrong. Nope… That’s NOT what happens in this new covenant, where’s He’s loosed His life-empowering gigantic grace upon us!
While this TRUTH might be shared, it does take great faith to actually receive it and believe it. Therefore it is utterly life changing in its power to change our lives and cause us to be more moulded into His image. We have to keep remembering that this mercy and grace that is now shown towards us in the new covenant, was not our idea, but Almighty God’s idea!
This is one reason why our faith has to be fought for. It takes time and “practice” to begin living this. Just imagine how different it would feel to walk through a day where you have absolutely no consciousness of sin, no sense of condemnation, but rather a living, flowing and overwhelming sense that you’re “right with God!”
God, in His grace has translated us out of darkness and into the Kingdom of His dear Son! (Collosians 1:13) Through our acceptance of Jesus Christ scripture now tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:17 that, “the person who is united to the Lord becomes ONE SPIRIT WITH HIM.” (emphasis mine) If this is true, you have to ask yourself the question, “If we are, one spirit with the Lord, how could God leave us?” Scriptures tells us we are ONE with Him; not two together, but ONE miraculously joined together by God’s great love. This is, a miracle of God’s doing. Yes it seems “too good to be true”….. but that’s just it; it IS true!
Amazing grace…yep, absolutely amazing, but true none the less. The Father’s desire is that this truth should birth a great boldness in you to approach His throne without any shame or guilt. This truth also begins to create in you a true humility because of the great kindness that has been shown us by the Lord.
Make the decision to enter into this truth. Just believe it; its in the bible waiting for you to receive it. It wasn’t your idea or my idea so rid yourself of feeling still as if you need to earn it or deserve it. You can’t. That’s why Jesus did it for us. He conquered, for us. We share in His victory. He’s the conqueror, we’re the ones who are “more than conquerors.” He fought the fight. We all share the prize! Amazing love…leaves me breathless sometimes when I think of it.
No, in Romans 11:32 it says God “gathered us all in unbelief, SO THAT HE MIGHT HAVE MERCY ON US.” It was simply part of His big plan. It’s His new covenant with us. It is His grace that has made it all possible, and made it a fact for today.
This is why He’s not just extremely NEAR you; but rather He is always here IN you. Therefore do not be afraid or tremble, at anything hell might try and bring against you. God have already in Christ, triumphed over every plot, plan or device of satan, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. This “glory” is now ours, as His gift to each and every one of us who believes on Jesus! Therefore REJOICE!
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