“Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord God will gather you and bring you back.” Deuteronomy 30:4
Have you been there? I think if we have lived on this earth more than six or seven years we have experienced that distant land- the one of hurt, disappointment, rejection. It is the one where we wonder where God is. He seems to have abandoned us and stolen our joy and peace.
Perhaps, we have stolen it ourselves. Paul said if God was for us who could be against us. (Romans 8:31) Sometimes it is our own sin that has banished us. Or perhaps it is because of someone else’s sin against us that we have turned away. Maybe in our anger or sorrow or pain we cannot see through our tears. Maybe our hearts are hardened and we cannot yet forgive.
Whatever sent us to that distant place, the good news is there is a way home, back into our Father’s loving arms. Like Humpty Dumpty, when life has broken us to pieces, He will gather us up and bring us back, riding on his shoulders like the lost lamb. Once we accept Him as our Savior in our hearts and His Spirit dwells in us, there is always a beacon pointing to Him. We are on His GPS. He can find us, because He never lost sight of us.
If you are in that distant place today, take heart. Go off to your prayer closet and ask Him to come to you and lead you back home. Believe with all your heart and soul that He is there waiting for you . Once you turn around, confess your sin and seek His presence, He will come.
It may take a while to get back, but believe above all else, He will gather your up and guide you. And, oh, what a journey it will be. What things will He show you on the way?
Dear Lord God, I believe in your promise that You are always with me, even at times when I feel You are not. I desperately desire to be close to You, to bask in Your grace. Gather me up and bring me back each time I stray. When life pushes me away, let me draw near to Your Holiness and find peace in Your loving arms. Teach me that nothing but me can separate my soul from You…
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, not any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” ( Romans 8:38-39) Amen.
