Proverbs 15:29
Have
you ever felt like the LORD was far away? Notice that I said ‘felt’ like. Since
the LORD is omnipresent, He is everywhere, all the time. He is not confined to
some physical space or time. That being said, our proverb declares that He is
far from the wicked. How is this possible?
There
is a difference between what we feel sometimes and the actual conditions. We
can be in a room filled with people and yet feel alone. You can be in a wide
open field with one other person and feel like you are being crowded out.
But
there is another far away that the writer could be pointing out. When we have a
broken relationship, we are far away. That is when we feel lonely. Think about
a young person falling in love with someone they have seen, but never talked about
it to them because of shyness. They could be in the same math class, sit across
the lunch table, ride the same school bus, and never tell them how they feel.
The
LORD is far from the wicked, not because of something He has done, but because
the wicked make the choice to be far away, separated because of their sin. They
could enter a relationship with a word, but they choose to handle things
themselves. They harden their hearts against the Spirit’s calling.
The
opposite is also true. When we keep the lines of communication open between us
and the LORD, then we hear Him and He hears us. The first part, our hearing
Him, enables the relationship. He speaks and we obey. That is how you know a
person who is in relationship with Him. That person exhibits the LORD’s
character. People will know we are His by the love we have for one another. We
will be fleeing certain things, and holding onto others. Obedience will change
the way we live. Our attitude will get adjustments.
We
all want and need someone who will listen to us. Perhaps the human race has
failed for you; you have no one who will listen. Don’t despair! The LORD will
listen; He hears.