He is not far from each one of us. “For in him we live and move and have our being.” As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.” Acts 17:27-28.

Something wonderful happens when you call out to our Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. He responds and you begin a walk with Him. You begin to understand the truth that you are loved and even in the confusion of this world, life with our God begins. What does that mean? For me it means He is showing me I can trust Him for all things. While this world seeks to tear people apart, God is showing me He is working within us and that there is joy in being with others who love Him as much as I do. Conversations are richer…hope is deep in our hearts giving clarity to why we are here.

And this psalm, Psalm 73, shows how meaningless is envy for those who have much in riches of this world yet lack the most important thing…love for God and for others. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked…v. 2, 3. Have you ever felt that? I have. Many verses in this psalm speak to the actions of the violent, the arrogance of the scoffers. And then we come to the truth of life…When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny…v. 16, 17. What does envy do to us? When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you…v. 21, 22. Without God we are senseless and ignorant no matter the measure of our wealth or our lack of wealth. Those who have found God have found life itself. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. v. 23-26. One day our flesh and our heart will fail. What about today? Tomorrow? We can live with our God now. How? Begin a conversation now. Listen. Speak to God throughout your day and in your thoughts honor Him. See how your own thoughts begin to change for good.

Even as I sit writing this, the moon and earth are moving into position relative to the sun and we will experience a total eclipse around 1:40 p.m. CST. Just for 2 minutes or so and then they will continue on their sweep of designated orbits. Creator God created those minutes and that precision of movement of celestial bodies. Can you imagine? Can you be in just a little awe of such a thing? I keep wondering if there is sound in space! Can you imagine the cold? He can move our hearts and minds, too. In that moving to Him, we experience a shift that helps us realize that in Him we live and move and have our being because He is not far from each one of us...like those celestial bodies??? And in Him and with Him we find our meaning for life and it is as His children dearly loved. This life is filled with sorrows, with evil; with goodness, with hope – and above all with confusion. And this life is not all there is. There is so much more. The wonderful gift is, that with God with us, we can begin to live into our not-yet future when God will be here on this earth again with us. He will return. We have His promise and our God is faithful. If you haven’t yet experienced that truth, ask. He’s here. Always.