A few weeks ago, I was reminded of how great a blessing it is to be close to God. I have confessed to you all before that I am a Bible-nerd, meaning that I love to read the Bible! If we consider all that the Bible tells us about God, it is so amazing how close He is to us!
In the Old Testament, God’s people are afraid to come near Him. His holiness is so powerful, that they fear getting too close to God. When the tabernacle is introduced in Exodus, all of the people stay in the outer court, and only the priests enter the inner court. Even the priests are afraid to get close, as only the High Priest can enter the most holy place, and even then, only once a year! As we read this, we do not think of God as being distant and unloving, but we read about how serious sin should be taken, and not draw near to God so flippantly.
Because of sin, we are helpless to draw near to God; our sinfulness will not allow us. So, what does God do? He comes close to us! Jesus leaves heaven to come and redeem us from sin, heal our broken relationship with God, and bring us near to Him again. Because of Jesus, we have unlimited access to God. We can draw near to Him anytime we desire. We come to Him calling God our Father, and He calls us His children.
This week, we will be learning about being hopeful. As our Heritage students learn the story of Moses, we will also be teaching them about being hopeful. We have hope because we believe that God is working to make all things good, even when we do not understand what He is up to. As you go through this week, remember how wonderful it is that God is close to you. Let that truth fuel you with hope! God is with us all the time, and He is not going anywhere!
