June 3
‘From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’’ Matthew 4:17
Bible reading: Psalm 32 (Go to the Bible passage)
We often feel that God is not with us, but when we feel this we do not question ourselves what is the reason for this. We pretend that everything is alright and after some time we have the nerve to say, ‘There is a Divine Being, but He does not concern Himself with us,’ or ‘God is dead’.
We do not blame ourselves, even though we sometimes still can recall the days when we felt His presence and we were overjoyed by it. If we dare take this memory seriously and do not suppress it, then arises the burning question, ‘What caused the division between Him and us? Why could He not stay with us?’ Could it be sin, a very specific sin that we did not want to confess, that we preferred to cherish, and by which we had to go without His presence?
Let all those who - in spite of this - still long for God’s nearness, realize that it is not too late to confess that sin before God’s face. For now is the time we can still return to His ways.
Then God does not need to hide for us any longer, due to our persistent sinning. Indeed, He cannot bear iniquity, He cannot have communion with people living in sin. If we confess our sins without restraint and bow before His Majesty, He will once again be our refuge in the storms of life. Then He will again teach us in the way we should go. Then we do not perceive it as a burden anymore to obey Him, but instead, following Him becomes our deepest joy and we learn again to rejoice in the redemption He brought to us. For He is our Refuge!

Share This