When God Draws Near: Our Need for Redemption

When God Draws Near www.terilynneunderwood.com

Life is messy.  Dishes have to be done over and over.  Laundry keeps piling up.  Furniture needs dusting and floors need vacuuming. Babies need diapers and toddlers spill juice.  Children bicker and tweens roll eyes.  Spouses disagree.  Exhausted and worn thin from emotions spilled over and giving pieces of ourselves to everyone in our lives, we mommas find ourselves drained, empty.

We cry out for help or sleep or both … and we run on the inside from the demands and needs and pressures.  As hard as we try to do this momma/wife/homemaker thing, there’s always something we didn’t get done or need to do again.   Sometimes it all feels hopeless … and we begin to think, “Why bother?”

Life is messy … literally.  But spiritually our lives are messy as well.  We can probably all relate to Paul’s cry of frustration,

I want to do what is good, but I don’t.  I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.  (Romans 7:19  NLT)

We struggle and strain in this battle of flesh against spirit.  Time and again we find ourselves in desperate need of help … aware of all the ways we flail and fall and fail.   We need something more than lists of rules and pages of expectations.  We can’t even manage to check off all the “good girl boxes” on the list. The expectations of others (and ourselves!) about what “good” looks like leave us aware of every misstep and mistake.

We need something more … something different, something better.  We need more than rules.  We need a Redeemer, a Rescuer.

I love this from The Jesus Storybook Bible,

Before they left the Garden, God whispered a promise to Adam and Eve: “It will not always be so! I will come to rescue you!” … And he would.  One day, God himself would come.

Need for Redemption www.terilynneunderwood.com

God saw our need for redemption, sees our need for His presence.  He promised Israel and He promises us as well,

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  {Isaiah 43:1 ESV}

Our God is not a faraway God, a character in a fairy tale.  He sees our needs and He meets them.  From clothing the lilies to healing the sick, He is not detached from our physical needs.  As much as He delights in meeting each need of our flesh, He is far more generous in meeting the needs of our spirit.  

He draws near in the midst of our great need.  He draws near with the whispered truth of His love. He draws near with the hope-filled promise of our redemption. When God draws near, He meets our greatest need: redemption.

How has God drawn near to you in your times of need?

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I love visual reminders to point me back to the truth of God’s Word.  Dayspring has created a beautiful advent tabletop devotional,  Redeemed Christmas – The Heart of Jesus.  Offering one characteristic of the heart of Jesus toward us for each day from December 1 to 25, this is a wonderful way to remind yourself that He sees our need for redemption … and He is the fulfillment of that need as well as every other need we have.  For only $14.99, this sturdy tabletop devotional will become a treasured part of your Christmas decor.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

 
Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links.  Should you purchase through them, I will receive a small commission from the sales.  Also, Dayspring provided me with the product shown above.  The thoughts and opinions about it are all mine.  

Read the Psalms this summer with Scripture Dig!

Comments

  1. God draws near to me in my time of need in oh so many ways. He always knows exactly how to do so and when I need it. Happened today. I got out of my normal routine because of an early appointment, and I was hit by anxiety over a problem with our youngest son. I struggled all morning and finally realized that I was blocking Him by my anxiety. I was holding on to it. As I opened my hand so to speak, He immediately drew near and started restoring me. Anxiety is so hard to get rid of once it infiltrates the spirit, but God is restoring me minute by minute. And He does so often… whenever and wherever.
    Kari Scare recently posted…How to… Take Every Thought Captive, Part 2 of 2My Profile

    • “I finally realized I was blocking Him by my anxiety.”

      Oh Kari! I’ve been there so many times. Thank you for sharing your experience with me. Your comments are always such a bright spot in my day!

  2. My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
    I needed to be reminded of this today. Thank you.

  3. Thanks sweet friend for your post today! May the Lord continue to use you richly for His Kingdom, Honor and your good!
    Love seeing Him speak through your genuineness and openness to us! Blessings to you and your wonderful family……

  4. Hi TeriLynn my name is Janet Reader & I like your website When God Draws Near Our Need Of Redemption. It sure touches my heart & I know that it has touched many other hearts as well.

    Thank you for Touching My Heart TeriLynn
    Janet

  5. In these extremely dark post-election days we need more than ever, an uplifting reminder of who is in charge and only asks us to believe… A very difficult task for me as I look at what is happening to our nation. At age 65 I cannot remember a more fearful time in my life. God has brought us this far and with His help we will see our land healed in our lifetime.
    Thanks for your words of encouragement!

    • you are right, but we must look to those times when we are encouraged, and full of life for those are the times to remember.
      We must forget our old ways, and look to the future the future with God as the center. we must remember the right times and not the wrong for it pains God to see us this way. the most important thing though is to remember we are in this TOGETHER.

    • this is a poem I wrote I think it will fit in nicely.

      Life is tangled.
      We are broken.
      Forgotten.
      Left unwanted.
      This is what we tell our selves
      This is a lie.
      We are loved.
      We are remembered.
      We have forgotten.
      We have tangled.
      We have droped.
      We have been blinded.
      To the obvious.
      GOD

  6. I WILL PRAISE GOD DAILY FOR HIS GRACE AND MERCY. EVERY SEASON
    I WILL THANK HIM FOR TRAILS/TRIBULATIONS.
    WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT BUT JOY COMES IN THE MORNING.[PRAISE HIM]. .I WANT GOD TO KNOW HE IS ALWAYS WORTHY NO MATTER WHAT MY CIRCUMSTANCES MADE BE. I TRUST HE ALWAYS BRING ME OUT. BECAUSE I TRUST HIM. AND WHEN I DRAW NEAR TO HIM. HE DRAW NEARER TO ME.
    I WILL THANK HIM DAILY.
    I WILL PRAISE HIM DAILY.
    I WILL TRUST HIM MORE AND MORE EACH DAY.

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