Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com

* Who Moved?
* Scripture: "Why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide in times of trouble?"
Psalm 10:1 , NKJV

They had been married a few years. Now, riding along, music and the road ahead held their attention. Finally, she turned, gazed at her husband behind the steering wheel, sighed and said, "You know, we don't sit close to each other like we used to."
He briefly turned his head to look at her, then down at the seat between them, and returned his focus to the road ahead. Finally, he softly asked, "Who moved?"
Distance is distance, a measurement between two points. It might be a few inches on an automobile seat, or ninety-three million miles between the earth and the sun, and you could debate how close the two points are, or how far apart. There are times, though, when it becomes important to establish one point as a reference and compare everything else to that.
I can state the dimensions of a piece of land in a certain number of feet east and west, and north and south, and you would know how big of an area it covers. Still, you wouldn't have a clue as to the location until I give you a reference point to work from.
It is quite likely that the husband in the story is sitting right where he always has - behind the steering wheel.
Who moved?

The little story comes to mind whenever I feel distant from the Lord, or when I hear someone lament, as did the Psalmist, that the closeness they had known is not like it used to be.

"Why do you stand afar off, O Lord?"
Who moved?

If we make ourselves the center of the universe, well, yes, I suppose the Lord is distant from us. But if we establish God as the reference point for all things, including our relationship -
Who moved?

We might cry, as Jesus cried from the cross (Mark 15:34) -
"My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" Or add the words from the Psalmist, "Why are you so far from helping me?" (Psalm 22:1)
Remember that the Lord is near:
"All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord's, And He rules over the nations." Psalm 22:27-28)
Make the Lord your Divine Shepherd! "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me!" (Psalm 23:4)
The Lord is right where He always was.
Scoot over a little closer!
April 23, 2006