When God is Close

©copyright 2005 Bonita M Quesinberry, R.C.

excerpt Truth Gathering, Vol. II (not yet available)  

“When is God closest to me and I to Him?” This is an inquiry that only a handful have asked of self, either from time to time or at least once in his or her life; alas, only in the midst of adversity. In the beginning of this writer’s true walk with God and His Christ, as opposed to when They were accepted at age six and baptized at age nine, she recalls wondering about this closeness of which she had heard few speak. How can we know when God is near us or when we are close to Him? 

Personally speaking, the most important aspect of the above question is whether or not WE are close to God and Jesus; for God and His Christ never forsake the saints: as pointed out in both Acts 5:29,32 and Hebrews 13:5-6— ” . . . We ought to obey God rather than men. We are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him . . . for He hath said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ So that we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.'” 

The other side of this coin is presented in II Peter 2:9-10,15— “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and [turn away from righteous laws]. Arrogant are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of [luminaries, those of the light]. These have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of sin. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much shamelessness. Those that are clean escape from them who live in error.” 

Immediately discerned about this two-sided coin is that God always is near those who obey His Law by faith, accept Jesus as His Son and possess the same kind of faith as He, and give up all aspects of the flesh; while neither God nor His Christ even know those who teach prosperity of the world as well as God’s Law altered— for they speak lusts of the flesh— nor do God and Christ know those who follow such blasphemous teachings.  

Therefore, closeness to God and Christ is determined by choices made every day and every waking moment; regardless of any given circumstance, good or bad. Over the years, this writer has come to realize she is closer to God and Christ when she includes them in everything done, even words said or written, and/or in everything happening to her: whether those events are supernaturally caused; such as health issues, or through the act of another human being.  

As a result, she finds herself talking aloud to our Lord, and/or asking something of Him throughout any given day, or lapsing into prayer for another person’s needs or specific trial. Now she lives alone, so if anyone were to happen upon her, they might assume she has lost her mind: talking to empty air, as it were. Hear the laughter! For the very air is alive with God and His Christ and Their Holy Spirit. Jesus instructed that we pray unceasing, thus it is good to know by God’s Word whether or not our prayers are heard (see article “Are ALL Prayers Heard”). 

When she says, “talking to,” she means just that. She converses with our Lord as though He were a human standing or sitting right next to her: no flowery, showy speech— which He hates— just simple conversation. God loves it this way, for then we are approaching Him as a wise Father and we the trusting child. God is a god of simplicity, straightforward thus never measuring words: as we should be, also. 

If injured during a daily task, she might say, “Lord! Satan is at it again, trying to get me to shirk my duties. Get him outta here.” In an instant, that ole Devil is gone and I simply go about my chores. Or, if she mislaid something needed, she might say, “Lord, you know where I put that. Please direct me to it.” Within minutes, the Spirit has jogged her memory and she goes right to the item needed. In preparing a TSaS response or writing a poem, she puts God in charge her my pen reflects only God’s mouth rather than words of her own. After all, we humans are really good at skewing up; however, God is perfect. It is in our best interest to keep Him in charge. 

When she slides behind her car’s steering wheel, she immediately speaks to God before ever turning the ignition key, “Lord, I’m just the co-pilot today. You are the pilot, and I know everything will go smoothly.” If a driver in front of her does something foolish, that could have endangered her as well as others, rather than rant and rave and attempt to get even, she prays, “Lord, please protect that driver, for he/she doesn’t have a clue what their doing. And, protect all those who come near him/her.” You see, she’s already protected from careless drivers but others may not have put the Lord in control before they hit the streets driving a deadly weapon.  

Besides which, the above scriptures reveal that Christ’s sheep fear nothing man can do to a flesh body. Well, human beings drive cars and trucks as well as fly planes, wield knives and guns, diseases strike; finally, doctors use surgical instruments and administer drugs— all deadly weapons; so the cause of our death is irrelevant: simply one’s time to die a first death. Hopefully, this writer has made that abundantly clear to her grown children; having instructed them that no matter how she dies, it is all one vast illusion and they’d better not sue anyone for wrongful death. God forbid; for He said, “Vengeance is mine.”  

Each meal we prepare and eat, or those prepared by others, are opportunities to speak with our Lord. Thank God for the food we have, regardless of how simple or repetitive it might be, and for His power that caused us to prepare it. Hear laughter again, for there are those MS and/or Lupus days when this writer knows she must eat but doesn’t particularly feel like preparing a meal.  

On those kind of days especially, ask the Lord to push you to put together something, preferably food that will aid the body to function better than it has that particular day. Then thank Him for the nudge and for the food and even for how good it tastes. Also, acknowledge that the meal, whatever it is, was blessed to the nourishment of the body. 

Every waking moment and every event in our lives are opportunities to move even closer to God and His Christ. To ignore these chances to keep God in control of our lives, as opposed to our pitiful attempts at exercising inefficient power, is to distance our selves from God, Christ and the Holy Ghost: creating a void, so to speak, around our entire being. This empty space, then, becomes a fertile playground in which Satan can dig around and, in general, make life miserable. Lucifer has a difficult time slipping into spaces filled with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. 

Those voids also prevent us from attaining Christlike perfection and God’s holiness: which can be achieved but only through obedience and the closeness we minute-by-minute work toward (see article “The Mind of Christ”). Failure to attain perfection and holiness renders us like the virgins with not enough oil for their lamps while awaiting the groom: a second death sentence will be issued. 

Another means of being close to God and Christ is to delve daily into God’s Word. Sometimes, this is achieved by literally picking up the Bible and letting it simply fall open; then, read what is there and dwell upon what it says. Other times, it is done in conversations about God’s Word with another person, during which we might discuss various scriptures and how they should be discerned: as opposed to how the world has interpreted the same passages. Or, someone might ask what God has to say about a particular issue or even a specific Biblical topic, which should send us to our Bible in a manner quite similar to what we do in the group Truth Seekers and Speakers. 

Of course, another perfect time to have the Lord in our back pocket, so to speak, is when a person confronts us with hostility, warranted or unwarranted, and/or false accusations. This is when we should ask, “What would Jesus do?” First, we must discern what has prompted that person’s inappropriate behaviour. For instance, husband belittles wife: husband is reflecting how he feels about himself, as opposed to his words really being about his wife. It goes without saying, it easily could be the wife being combative. 

In either case, the wisest response would be, “It is so sad you think so little of yourself; especially since I think so highly of you.” We’ve only to remind self of God’s second great commandment of love: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Anyone, including a nation of people or a spouse, is our metaphoric neighbor; and, if that neighbor is being abusive physically or emotionally or both, he or she is really saying, “I don’t love myself and I’m afraid of losing you; so, I’m going to push you away before you leave on your own; but, I’m also going to fight your leaving every step of the way.” Low self-esteem is without logic. 

Or, let’s say a neighbor has irately demanded that your child never step on their property again; though, such demand is wholly unfair and unwarranted. This is mentioned because of a similar experience years ago when this writer’s 38-year old son was three, the same age as her neighbor’s daughter, with whom he played every day in her yard.  

In this case, we need to be asking God for the best response to douse our neighbor’s fire while at the same time providing a viable solution. Try this: “Well, I understand; so, why don’t you let your little girl come over here to play?” And, make sure your accompanying smile is very genuine. After all, you aren’t saying you understand the reason for your child’s banishment; rather, you’re saying you understand the unreasonableness of that person’s hostility and you’ve offered a workable solution. It worked like a charm for this writer and no another incident arose while living in the neighborhood. It worked because the Lord was consulted before opening the mouth. 

On the other hand, say you are speaking God’s Truth and professing Christians accuse you of being deceived and a blasphemer, false prophet, and/or doing the Devil’s work: all the things of which Christ Himself was accused. Again, we first must remember Christ warned this would happen to those who follow His lead; and, second, He instructed that we respond with, “Bless you.” Nothing more: neither argument over God’s Word nor attempts to justify your words or stating why the accuser is in the wrong. 

This being said, why in the world would we want to bless a person who, in essence, has denied God and His Word as well as having just shouted to the world that we are liars? We bless them, not for them, but for the fact that, unbeknownst to them, they have identified us as followers of Christ therefore bearing God’s seal upon our forehead. As the Lord said, “Their accusations are to them a curse but to you a gain.” And, what is the curse of God: to be declared twice dead. Obviously, our gain is eternal life. 

The bottomline, pertaining to God’s nearness and our closeness to Him, is that we decide the distance by what we, individually, say and do. Based on self-actions, and not that of others, God and Christ and the Holy Spirit are either near or they are far away. If they are not close, then the individual is in danger of being declared twice dead. It behooves everyone to review his or her own relationship with God and His Christ for any and all deficiencies; and, if some are found, then quickly change those into efficiencies for the rest of one’s physical life and beyond. 

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. — Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4

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