Jesus Is Near

Ps.145:¹⁸ “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. ¹⁹ …He also will hear their cry and save them” [NKJV, with emphasis]

We are going to look at three practical ways to respond as Jesus did. There are three practical ways to respond in peace and totally banish the fear of unexpected crisis from our lives. The first practical thing you and I must do is to refocus on God’s closeness. Get your mind off the crisis and onto Christ. Matt.8:²³ “Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples.” Jesus was in the same boat with His disciples. Jesus was near. God is near. The presence of Jesus does not mean the storms will not happen.

What “boat” is shaking in your life? Think about it; if Jesus is in that boat will you be afraid? So why is it that these disciples had Jesus in their boat and they panicked? If Jesus is in the boat of your finances, will you be afraid? If Jesus was physically in your house today and a burglar is banging on your door, will you be afraid? If Jesus is physically in your house today and your child is very sick, you will just laugh, and hand him or her to Jesus. If Jesus is in your business and every business around you is going down, would you be afraid? If Jesus is in your career and they are firing everybody, would you be afraid?

I am sure your answer to all these questions is “of course not”, right? Is it safe to say that the disciples did not even know the value of Jesus? If it were you, you would not be afraid, right? But guess what? Jesus is right there in your boat; so where is the fear coming from? You have to deliberately and consciously refocus on God’s closeness. And this is why your personal relationship with God is so important.

Your personal relationship with Jesus is indispensable.  You cannot get close to God by proximity to man.  This is something I see a lot people doing. We have to get close to God by proximity to Jesus Christ. Man can help disciple you but your ultimate hunger is for Jesus. Our confidence in life has to be rooted in the fact that Jesus is in the boat with us.  We can look at the disciples and criticize them because it seems like they doubted. But God is saying to you and I, Jesus is in your boat.

Prayer [song]: My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus Name. On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. Amen!