Closer Than You Think

A few years ago during the Summer, I took some of my kids on a day trip to the beach.  They were in their teens, so I could leave them on the beach or to swim with each other closer to the shore, and I knew that they were safe.  I do not swim in the ocean much and so I was not used to some of the dynamics of the waves and the water in the Long Island Sound.  I worked my way out a good bit from shore, still standing on my tip toes and keeping my head above water.  I was a floating soda can a bit further out from shore and thought it would be a good cardio challenge to swim out to get it, then return to where I was standing.  After setting out to get the can, it seemed to take a bit longer than first estimated.  Once the goal was reached, I turned around to get back to shallower water and found that the shore was a long way off!  Some how, as long as I was moving away from shore toward the can, I did not realize that the waves were carrying both of us quickly into deep waters.  I started swimming hard to at least get to the point where I could stand.  It seemed like the harder I swam, the more the waves carried me away from shore.  I was almost out of strength.  I gasped for air.  My cardio was gone.  I started to swallow water.  Perhaps this stupid can would be the cause of my death.  What a stupid way to die, I thought.  Just as I thought I could go no more, my toes found the ocean bottom, and I stood there gasping for breath, vowing to never venture that far from shore again.

Are you a Born Again Christian who has spiritually drifted far from God?  Do you remember when nothing could keep you from zealously sharing your faith with everyone?  Do you remember the child like awe you felt every time you came to church, every time you sung the songs of the redeemed, every time you heard the Bible taught or preached?  Do you remember the passionate way you used to pray, actually believing that God could really hear and answer your prayer?  Do you remember the things you stopped doing, the changes in your choices for entertainment, the changes to your circle of friends?  Do those days seem so far away that they almost only exist in your imagination of what should have been, not what really happened?  I believe that God brought you to this blog to get a message to you.

Often when we drift away from God into the Sea of Worldliness and Apathy, we have no idea of how far away from shore we are until we get too tired to make it back.  The Devil whispers that it is too late to get back to the days of intimacy with Jesus.  You have sinned too much.  You are too jaded and sceptical to ever enjoy the golden days of your salvation.  God is too far away to even attempt to return to Him.  I want to tell you a great truth from the Bible.  If you turn from your sin and turn to God, He will meet you where you are!  You do not have to try to battle your way back to shore on your own!  Look at the promise that God made to a wayward nation:


Zechariah 1:3 (AV)

³ Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

While I was heading back to shore, I was pretty sure that I was not going to make it.  I started to cry out for help.  There were fishermen on the breakwater who could hear me.  As I screamed in desperation, they all looked in curiosity, wondering if I was serious.  No one came to help me.  No one seemed to care.  I was on my own to try to make it back.  As you realize how far you have drifted, you are not on your own.  If you will but repent (change your mind that leads to a change of direction) then God will meet you on your way back to Him!

In Luke 15 we read about a son who left his father and squandered his inheritance on harlots and booze.  He had greatly sinned against God and against his family.  As he was face down with his head in pig slop, trying to get a little something to eat, he decided to make that long trip back home and see if he could be a servant, but not a son.  Look at what the Bible says happened on his way back home.

Luke 15:18–20 (AV)

¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. ²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Home was such a long way off, but His father ran to meet him!  He walked back with his repentant son and started a celebration.  This parable shows what our Father does when we as His adopted children wander away.  Once we come to ourselves and start that long journey back, He runs to meet us!

James 4:10 (AV)

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Today is Ash Wednesday.  It is a time when many people take a few moments to evaluate their standing with God.  Friend, if you have already trusted in Jesus Christ alone to save you from your sins, but you have drifted far from the faith you once embraced, turn back and come home to the Father.  He will meet you on your way home.  Restoration to sweet fellowship with God is closer than you think!

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