A God nearby- A God far away

"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." (Isaiah 40:27-28)

I had such an amazing week. It felt as if God sat me down after listening to weeks of my moaning and begging and complaining, the same way a parent sits his child down and asks "Ok, lets see why is this such a big deal?" I feel like someone who was out cold and just woke up and remembered her life. I understood this week that sometimes you can tell yourself you're looking for God but instead only look for an way out of your troubles. That if you take your eyes of the Almighty One of Israel and start to look at Him through the perspective of what you can do, it is very easy to end up in a place where your God is about your size and your problems are bigger than you both.

God is personal. What do I mean by that? He is Yeshua taking a body to be close to us and understand what it means for your eyes to grow tired, your back to hurt and your stomach to feel hungry. He is the One who comes and kneels by your side on an old dirty road where you crashed and can't stand up again. He is the One who puts His forehead on yours so that you would know it's not the end and you are not alone. But if I only see Him this way, as a God nearby, sometimes my human mind might forget that at the same time He is El Shaddai (The Almighty One), El Elyon (The Most High God), Yeshua HaMalech (Jesus, The King)
I might forget that I'm on the winning side here. That there's no need for me to win the battle all over again, that I already won it the minute I believe it and start acting as an overcomer. The battle is in my mind and if I believe Him and start acting as such, there is no one in this universe who can reduce me to a victim.
He remains the same, unchanged by my emotions, reactions, circumstances and failures. He knows when to be a God nearby, Yeshua, my friend who joins His palm with mine to give me strength, and when to be a God far away- The Almighty One, whom I can't comprehend with my mind or contain with the palm of my hand. He is The God "who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the heavens with the breadth of his hand" (Isaiah 40:12)
Some days I think my efforts to understand Him are futile when I try to understand the magnitude and awesomeness of His Persona, but then I look at Yeshua and I see once again He wants to be known just as much as I want to know Him.

Something else I realised this week was how silly I am when I try to hide from my God. Why would you want to hide from Him? It's a natural human reaction when you "take a look" at the King. Isaiah, the prophet, thought he will die (Isaiah 6:5) John, the apostle, fell to the ground (Revelation 1:17). I want to hide, because for a split second I understand I should be dead, but for Yeashua's love. I feel so unworthy and inadequate that I would like to disappear, so I hide. But to hide from your God no matter how you feel, is just as silly as a child sitting in the middle of a group under the strong impression nobody can see him just because he covered his eyes.

And in the same way, I can't hide from Him, my cause is not hidden from Him. He has not disregarded my dreams or forgot the desires of my heart. "His understanding no one can fathom". It's not futile to want to understand Him or His character "I have not said to Jacob's descendants "Seek Me in vain" (Isaiah 49:23)
What is futile though, is to try to guess how He is going to work or His timing. It will never be as I imagine. This Monday, I thought it was too late for Him to help us. He proved to me once again that my 12 o'clock is not 12 o'clock for a timeless God. He made that person write a cheque for £250 at least two days before I thought it was too late. He began to help me, before I even started to get scared and panic, just as He promised "And it shall be that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking I will hear. " (Isaiah 65:24)

What a God! And how happy I am to be His:-)