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I’m Never Far Away…

By December 9, 2012August 30th, 2022Devotional

Yesterday morning, we woke up and it was a little chilly in the house. I wondered if by chance we had turned the heat off but that wasn’t the case. Janet and I had breakfast but by the time we were finished and had done the dishes, the temperature had dropped another degree. Now we are one of those homes that keeps the thermostat at 72 – it makes it most comfortable for Janet and her arthritis. Much cooler and she starts to have problems, so I carefully monitored what was was going on with the temperature.

Well, it wasn’t long before the house dropped another degree and now we were looking at 67 – a full 5 degrees below where we like to keep the thermostat. It was late morning and I headed down in the basement to see if I could tell if there was a problem. I cranked up the heat to about 75 and heard the ignition on the furnace. Then a few moments later, the furnace shut down again. I called our friend Pat, who seems to know just about all there is about this kind of stuff, and she came right over. It wasn’t too much longer before we decided that this situation required a call to Bob, our heating and cooling specialist, a wonderful Christian, and more recently, a good friend of the family.

When Kristin got her new home earlier this year, it was Bob who came over and did the inspection of the heating and air conditioning. When he was done, all those friends of mine who were doing the house inspection gathered in the dining room and we prayed together for Kristin and her boys as they started life together in the new home. In fact, Bob and his son actually helped Kristin get moved in. He and his family were awesome.

Bob also did the heating and air conditioning inspection when Andrew’s family acquired their house earlier this year as well. And several months ago, when all of us had our inspections done for the winter season, you guessed it, Bob was the one who helped us all out. I guess that you can figure out by now that he is a great guy who just has a spiritual gift of helps – he has been a Godsend to our family. And we have watched as his son went on a mission trip last summer – we are all connected through our shared belief in Christ.

Anyway, Saturday, I dialed Bob on his mobile and, miraculously, he had just finished a job several minutes away from our home. Within 10 minutes, he was walking up our driveway to assess the situation. He replaced a part or two on the furnace and announced that we needed a new blower motor. Of course, parts places were closed, so we hunkered down for a cool week-end in our home. We’ll see him again Monday afternoon to put in the new motor, but it has been a little chilly in here. Thank goodness we aren’t struggling with below freezing temperatures or anything – it has been bearable, just a little uncomfortable.

We were down to 63 or so, but Janet plugged in several electric heaters and started the fireplace in our great room. It’s holding in the mid sixties, but I’m sure we’ll drop a few degrees overnight. Then, Monday, all will be back to normal after Bob does his magic.

Anyway, as Bob was getting ready to leave on Saturday and we were saying our good-byes, he said something that really resonated with me – “Whenever you call, I’m never far away…” You know what? He’s right. For some inexplicable reason, Bob always seems to be right around the corner whenever we need him.

If you have been around for a while with me, you know exactly where I am headed with this – did you ever notice the same thing about God? Whenever we call Him, He is never far away. Of course, if you’re not in the habit of thinking about God, it may not occur to you to call on Him. But I guarantee you, He’s there, never far away. In fact, the Scripture confirms that God is close to us.

Our verse for tonight is a short one. From Psa. 145:18 , we are told, “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” If you needed proof, there you have it. Right in the Bible itself. My encouragement this evening is that God is waiting to help you with whatever issues you need Him for. My prayer is that the next time you have a problem, don’t forget that God is right around the corner. In fact, He may even send His servant Bob to help you, just like He did with us. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

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