270. The Lord Draws Near
Lamentations 3:56-57 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drawest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidest, Fear not.
The Lord promises to draw near when we call upon Him. This promise to hear our prayers is repeated many times, especially in the Psalms. Paul picks up this theme in Romans 10 and applies it to salvation: confess with the mouth and believe in the heart in the Lord Jesus. This is calling on the Lord. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” When one calls on and believes in the Lord He draws near.
God promises to draw near. God could draw near to judge, punish and afflict, or He could draw near to save, forgive and bless. To encourage us to call and trust God to do good and not harm, He says, “Fear not.” Fear is in the sense of truly believe, yes; but fear not in the sense of be not afraid. He will come to bless. In the Bible when God or an angel shows up His first words are, “Fear not!” All men will be fearful in the face of the awesome presence and glory of God. But then the Lord comes with a word of blessing and peace. For instance, when Peter saw the miracle of fish He feared, but then Jesus said, “Fear not, from now on you will catch men. Follow me.” Peter had been awestruck dumb with fear. After such an encounter who would not but follow? Paul and John and others had similar experiences. When one meets God he might first be properly filled with terror; then when God speaks it is a word of grace.
God will not hide when we breathe and cry. He draws near when we call in faith. And He does not come to judge, but to have mercy. In most cases when the Lord appears to someone in the Bible the person confronted is given a mission to do or a word to speak. Truth be told, when the Lord draws near to us after we call on Him, He often gives us a charge. And we willing follow, for we are overwhelmed with awe-full grace. At any rate, we pray, for he promises to hear.