Tag: distance

Posted in Life

So close, yet so far

Posted on by William Douthwaite

(I don’t really have to write much about this picture, do I?)

We stopped at a small coffee shop after a nice sunrise beach walk. Black for me, vanilla latte for her, two whipped cream pup cups, and a chocolate. chip. muffin.

I’ll be honest. I staged this picture. Willow, our Great Dane, is not a jumper. But she can counter surf with the best of them, flicking her lengthy tongue at a butter dish, salad fork, bowl of pasta, bits of gristle from a steak, or some crumbs from my homemade sourdough bread.

I was not cruel. I gave her a few crumbs. But I put the chocolate muffin just out of reach for this visual effect.

Great illustration, right?

So much of what we want seems so close, but it’s just out of reach. If we just had more money, experience, influence, talent, friends, or whatever, we would have what we want. We would be happy. We woulds be satisfied.

It’s always just out of reach, isn’t it?

That muffin would be gone in a moment. Most of the things we pursue only last a moment. We get it, and then we want something else. We’re never satisfied.

It looks so close, but what we want is so far away.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Closer than you think

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Some “through the Bible” thoughts from Isaiah 59.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
    or his ear dull, that it cannot hear (Isaiah 59:1).

The hearing aid business must be doing very well. They take out full page ads in the local paper. I get robo-calls and lots of direct mail from a variety of vendors. I’m in that age group. Everyone my age has some hearing loss. At this point, I’m not aware of my need for assistance.

I am shorter than I used to be. For most of my adult life I was five foot ten inches. Somewhere I lost an inch. Now I’m only 5′ 9″.

So it’s only natural to think that the eternal God, the ancient of days, may have lost a step or two. At the very least, he’s not as quick to respond as we would like.

I love how Isaiah addresses this. “Behold…” in other words, “Look…” God’s reach is as long as it’s ever been. His hearing is just fine. He’s not the problem. You are. Your sin, your failures, your mistakes, your disobedience, and your dishonesty has created distance between you and God. At a distance, objects look smaller than they really are.

So does God.

Like a young child who wanders ahead of the parents, we don’t realize how far we’ve strayed until we need divine assistance. Then all of a sudden we wonder why God seems so far away. Guess what? He never moved. You did. And I did.

It happens at the beach. You’re out in the water having a great time. You look up and realize you’ve drifted far from your beach umbrella and cooler.

It happens at sporting events. You thought you had good seats. But the players seemed so small from where you were sitting.

Younger kids often look through the wrong end of binoculars. Everything looks so small!

How often do you look at God through the wrong end of the binoculars? How small and remote is your view of God?

Only scripture can turn the binoculars around. In the bible God is bigger than the seas, mountains, rivers, creatures, weather, trees, and hailstorms. He overcomes trouble, storms, hunger, fatigue, doubt, and death. Impressive. Much bigger than we think or imagine.

We can’t get close to God. But he comes to us. Jesus comes to make the impossible possible. God with us!