Every once in a while, you come across a phrase that jumps out at you;
a phrase you've heard a hundred times before,
but this time,
you pause just long enough to let it soak in.
Well, let this phrase from Psalms sink in:
We praise you, God,
we praise you for your Name is near;
people tell of your wonderful deeds.
What does that even mean?
What on earth was psalmist suggesting?
Was it merely intended to sound mystical?
Perhaps we should we brush it under the rug and forget it was ever there.
Or, perhaps the psalmist was saying something about God that we should pay attention to.
Obviously, he had something to praise God for.
But what did he mean when he wrote,
"we praise you for your Name is near?"
What does it mean for someone's name to be near?
Recently I overheard a God talk that a few people were having.
A God talk is one of those conversations
where people offer their perspectives on who God is,
what he is like,
what he is up to,
and what faith is all about.
I absolutely love God talks.
They stimulate my own perspective and curiosity about God.
But God talks also act as windows,
which allow me to witness how other people perceive God.
This particular conversation was fascinating.
I was fascinated by how quickly this conversation transitioned from a God talk
into a conversation about heaven and hell.
It was a window that allowed me to see
something most of us could relate to.
We all tend to do this sort of thing:
we turn God talks into
conversations about heaven or hell,
political lefts or rights,
church philosophies,
church history,
church cultures,
denominational contrasts,
social justice issues,
atheism vs. theism,
we turn God talks into conversations about
us vs. them...
our opinions vs. theirs.
All the while, we never really get to talking about God;
we talk about everything else.
The psalmist didn't talk about any of that.
Instead, he praised God
because he thought God's name was near.
His God talks were relevant because he considered God to be mysteriously nearby,
active,
and integrated into the unfolding experience of life itself.
The psalmist praised
as people excitedly talked about God's inspiring
connectivity with the world and the people in it.
That was the content of their God talks.
When was the last time you were excited about the nearness of God,
or excited about what you saw God doing in the world,
or excited about what Christ was doing in people's lives?
That is what the psalmist was doing.
Do you ever get sick of God talks that have nothing to do with God Himself?
Do you ever get tired from the repetitive jargon disguised as a God talk?
Do you ever get bored with the heaven and hell conversation?
Don't you want to see God as the psalmist saw God - incredibly near and active?
Wouldn't it be refreshing to know He is present:
in every breath?
every time you held your kids?
every time you sat down to the blessing of a warm meal?
every time you looked at a good painting or listened to a great song?
every time a roof was over your head?
every time you interacted with another human being?
The psalmist had a significant reason to praise God.
And so do we.
Because,
God is closer than you think.
He is present. He is near.
As you read this,
know that Christ is far more integrated into this moment
than you could ever imagine.
And
that calls for an interesting God talk.
