Is He really THAT close?
While on vacation in the Smokies, I picked up a book from one of the many book outlet stores there called God is Closer Than You Think, by John Ortberg. This book hit a key note on what was going on in my life. I felt distant from God, but this book helped bring me closer and realize opportunities I could take advantage to help me grow. I HIGHLY reccommend this book!
This book introduced me to The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo. It’s located on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Notice Adam. He is loathing on a rock, carelessly holding his arm out, not really trying to hard to reach God. Adam is VERY contrast to God. God is persistently persuing this human He created. He’s trying so hard, extending his hand to full extent, waiting on Adam to do the same. Where is your hand? Are you consistently persuing Him? Is your hand to full extent, all the time? Will you make that little finger movement, allowing God into your life? Makes me think of E.T. and Elliot. When their fingers touch. The Movie, E.T., probably took that from Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. Picture Here
God is waiting outside of your bubble. Your bubble keeps your thoughts and actions in itself. What if there’s something outside of that bubble that can help you with what you’re dealing with? What if the second you reach out, there’s someone there, who has always been there, wanting to help you? God’s waiting for when you reach out from your bubble, when you want Him. And He will always be waiting for that moment.
Where is God today? Exodus 3:13-14. When Moses first encountered God at the burning bush, he asks what to call him. God responds ”I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’
Rob Bell’s Nooma Video, Breathe:
The word Lord is derived from the Hebrew language and in English we would abbreviate it “Y.H.V.H” but in Hebrew the letters are pronounced “Yod Hey Vau Hey”. In modern terms we call him “Yahweh” or even “Yahveh”. Essentially though they (the “Y.H.V.H”) were thought to be vowels in the Hebrew language. Well those sounds were thought to be breathing sounds in the culture of the time and technically were thought of as “unpronounceable”.
So the next time your atheist friend says “There is no god.” Each time they are taking a breath, he is actuallly saying God exists. YHWH is also known as the Tetragrammaton.
