By D’Ann Davis, Women’s Ministry Director
“The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.” – Psalm 145:18
“But I spent time with the Lord, and He did not meet me.” There are few things in the Christian life that feel more defeating than when we have taken the time to seek the Lord’s face, and we walk away feeling stood up. We read, we prayed, we journaled, we cried, and we came out on the other side just as discouraged, confused, and empty as before. Sometimes we feel worse off than before we spent time with Him at all.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers as to why sometimes God seems to tarry in His nearness. Sometimes we simply must keep going, trusting in the truth of Jeremiah 29:13 that we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our hearts. But Psalm 145:18 gives us some insight into why we might find the Lord not picking up our phone call; maybe we are dialing the wrong number.
“The Lord is near to all who call on Him,” the psalmist tells us, “to all who call on Him in truth.” The qualifier provides us clarity. There are countless times in which I have called upon the Lord, but not in truth. I have called on Him in my feelings, in the lies I believe, in accusation, in anger, and in bewilderment. When I base my view of God on those things and not the truth, I find it difficult to hear from Him. When I call on Him in truth however, even in the midst of great sorrow, confusion, or despair, I’m far abler to hear clearly from Him. Thankfully even as we fail in this, God is gracious. God is not threatened by our negative feelings; instead, He asks us to share them with Him (Psalm 51:6). He is also not needing for us to have a cleaned up view of Him before approaching Him, as Jesus has paved the way for us to be near to the Father and sympathizes with our weakness in this area as well (Hebrews 4:14-16). “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, ‘made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved’” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Thankfully, it is the blood of Jesus, and not our ability to see God perfectly at all times, that saves us and reconciles us to the Father.
So God has made the way for us already, and He is inviting us to walk in it. When we are hitting a wall with the Lord and are finding it impossible to hear from Him, we would be wise to ask ourselves, “Am I calling on Him in truth?” Quite possibly we are not feeling near to Him because we are not calling on Him in truth, but are instead nursing the lies we believe in the throes of self. In this verse God is graciously exhorting us to call on Him in truth. When we root our view of life and circumstances on the solid rock of His character, it totally transforms how we approach Him and the intimacy we can share with Him. Conversely, when we insist on viewing Him through the lens of our life and circumstances, we will continue to hit a wall with Him.
So let’s be people who call on Him in truth. Psalm 73:28 tells us the nearness of God is our good. God is near when we call on Him in truth; the nearness of God is our good; calling on Him in truth is our good. Let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence as Hebrews 4 encourages us to do, knowing that when we seek Him, we will find Him.
Dear Lord, thank You that You are near to ALL who call on You, to all who call on You in truth. Lord, we are broken people and we have a hard time seeing You as You are as we fight our flesh and brokenness. Please continually reveal Yourself to us that we might know You better and love You more. Please help us call on You in truth. Thank You that You are good and faithful to respond. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.