So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. James 4:7-8a (NLT)
Ethan bounced his basketball against the cracked cement of the driveway. Carefully he lined up his shot. Swoosh! Nothing but net. A few days ago, this would have resulted in a fist pump. Today it didn’t seem like that big a deal.
It was spring break time, something he had been looking forward to. He was alone most of the time because his sister was always at her friend’s house and his mom and older brother were working. This was the first time Ethan was allowed to stay at home by himself. He’d been looking forward to it all school year. But now that it was here, truthfully, it was pretty boring.
There was nobody nearby that he could go visit and even though his mom and brother would be home for lunch, that still left him the afternoon to himself. “I feel so far away from everything,” he thought to himself.
It wasn’t just the long break that had brought on this feeling. Ethan felt far away from a lot of things in his life right now. His mom worked all the time, his sister had her own friends, his brother was never home, even when he wasn’t working. And his dad…. well, his dad had been far away for quite some time.
Ethan remembered when Dad first left. For many, many months they had all gathered at the dining room table in the morning, reading the Word of God, praying for Dad to come to his senses, to come home to them. Ethan had felt so close to God then. He could feel His presence in his heart. He could hear His Words in his mind. He felt like he could reach out and take His hand whenever he needed to.
But as the months went on, so did his family’s life. His brother’s job meant he couldn’t be there in the morning to pray with them. Soon his sister stopped, too, saying she had to get homework done or something. Mom continued for the longest time, but she, too, eventually stopped gathering the family together each morning.
Ethan hadn’t wanted the morning time to end. He liked hearing God’s Word. He liked feeling the peace and comfort it gave him. He liked knowing that God was watching over their family. And now that they no longer prayed together, it made him feel so far away from everything.
It’s not that he had pushed God away, just that he hadn’t drawn close to Him. He hadn’t been leaning on Him, listening to Him, praising Him, praying to Him. He remembered what the pastor had said in church one Sunday, something that had stuck with him. “God is always as close as a prayer.”
Ethan stowed the basketball in the garage and went inside. In the coolness of the den, he opened the family Bible to the place they had left off. It was Matthew 11.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT)
Ethan pulled his legs under him, bowed his head, and began to pray. He prayed that his family would draw near to God once again. He prayed that the Lord would touch and change his dad’s heart. He prayed that God would envelope his family in His loving embrace once again.
That night at supper, Ethan spoke up. About how he missed the family devotional time. How he missed feeling close to God. How he missed the peace and comfort it gave him. How he missed the hope that they once had.
It was pretty quiet around the table for a long time. But finally, his brother said, “I’m done with work by 5:30.”
“So am I,” his mom said.
“And softball practice doesn’t start until 7:00,” his sister said.
Ethan looked at his family around the table and knew that his prayer had been answered. The pastor was right, God IS always as close as a prayer.
… let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:22-23
God bless,
