This Is What Happens When God Walks Here Too
On the first day back to school after a much-extended Christmas break, my son and I hold hands (he begrudgingly and me rejoicing) and pick our way over sidewalk mostly covered in ice and snow. The car line is forever long so we’re parked past where the sidewalk is cleared. On my way to the car I snap a picture to remember.
Back home it hits me: God walks here too.
He occupies the space of our everyday lives, turns the ordinary into sacred, bridges between burden and blessing. He is a God who walks among us, whose feet land in our footprints, who presses His presence into the spaces we frequent.
God is both holy and here. Right here.
I recently read a mandate God had spoken to the Israelites through Moses: “Treat your camp as a sacred place because the Eternal your God will be walking around in it” (Deut. 23:14, The Voice).
And I wonder, what would it change if we knew how paper-thin is the distance between God and us? If we knew He was right here when we’re worn from wonted rhythms? When loss hits and questions rise? When we have to make wretched-hard decisions in this busted up world?
Arms That Always Hold
God Walking Amongst Us coincides with fresh discoveries as I finish the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) and a few more Psalms.*
God is:
Close By
Still Holy
Nearby Protector
Faithful Provision
Loving Protection
Trustworthy Nevertheless
He’s Justice! Justice!
Champion Deliverer
Wonder Striker
Wilderness Guide
Gatherer of the Scattered
Heart Tenderizer
Again-and-Again Refilling
God, who walks the very same ground, is
Next-to-Us Rest
Arms Around Me
Everlasting Hug
It’s spelled out here in Deuteronomy 32:10–a promise for you and I too: “He put His arms around him and took care of him; He protected him as the apple of His eye” (The Voice).
You are the apple of God’s eye. His treasured, chosen, and covered one. And God? He’s Arms That Always Hold and Grace That Ever Enfolds.
This up-close and personal rescuer walks with us and weeps with us, as we dug into last week. And to do so, He must stay close. Close enough that we can feel the warmth of His breath, catch when His eyes mist and when they chuckle, tuck our prayers right into His cupped hands.
God Walks Here With You
Let’s linger here, shall we? I have a big mug of piping hot, half-milk brewed chai. And you? Coffee, perhaps? Or Earl Gray?
Here’s a question to ponder as we sip:
How would you talk with God if you knew He was walking around in your house?
Imagine if you knew He was close, even with your eyes closed. If you could smell His scent before He walked into the room. If the room brightened, even through your closed eyelids.
Imagine if your heart leapt at the sound of His voice.
Imagine if He was looking straight into your eyes when you offered Him that heavy burden your tender heart has been carrying.
Proximity changes the atmosphere, doesn’t it?
Knowing God is so close that He intersects with our steps increases my faith.
Maybe I’d pray more boldly if I knew for sure He was listening.
Maybe I’d pause more often to listen if He was sitting on the couch next to me.
Maybe you would too.
Next-To-Us Rest
As I picture you with your heart fully at rest, leaning into intimate conversation with Jesus, I think of Deuteronomy 33:16, the verse I wrote Next-To-Us Rest beside. Here, the 40-years of wilderness wandering has come to an end. Moses is passing leadership over to Joshua and preparing to see a glimpse into the Promised Land before he passes. One by one, Moses blesses the clans of Israel. To Benjamin he says,
The Eternal’s beloved rests safely next to Him, protected all through the day, resting between His shoulders.
The Voice
You can unwind.
You can climb right up on God’s shoulders and let your feet dangle.
You can rest, like a child, His child.
Because you’re safe.
Because you’re cherished.
Because you’re held by God Himself.
This is an all-day, everyday promise by the God who is always close by.
But I tend to forget that God is ever near so I play worship songs on repeat to help me remember. Songs like “This Close” by Steffany Gretzinger.
Take a few minutes to listen now if you can, or save the song for later. While you listen, picture yourself “resting between [God’s] shoulders.
Want more song recommendations? I collect the songs I can’t turn off in a playlist. Get it here:
A Prayer of Blessing
Friend, no matter what feels buried or sharply cold, no matter feels boring or burdensome, God is so, so close.
Close enough you can take your prayer requests and place them right into His hands.
Close enough that you can whisper straight into His ear.
Close enough that you can sense the lingering fragrance of His presence.
May I pray a blessing over you?
Jesus, I pray for the one feeling distant from You. Melt her worries, her fears, her burdens. Enfold her in a tender hug.
For the one feeling it’s all up to her, invite her high up on Your shoulders.
For the one feeling worn, tuck her into your never-shaken strength.
For the one feeling bored, recapture her gaze.
Fill us all with an awareness that everywhere our feet land, You walk there too.
* I’m taking Mary Demuth’s 90-Day Bible Reading challenge (and you can too!). Sign up HERE.
** Ann Voskamp’s Sacred Prayer journal is the one I’m using, and her questions gives space to record who God is, where we are in relation to God, and more. I find it dovetails beautifully with Mary’s challenge.
Just a friend over here in your corner,
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