Where is God?

My daughter and I have needed to travel to New York City over the past year for personal reasons. If you have ever had the opportunity to spend time in this “city that never sleeps,” then you know the perpetual sound of honking horns, emergency sirens, the bright lights of Broadway, and the people…oh, the people! Diversity is one word that seems to sum up all that is necessary to define all aspects of “The Big Apple.”

I am sitting outside my hotel room looking at the landscape and taking in all the descriptions of the city mentioned in the previous paragraph. Constant noise is literally in the air, and everywhere I look are concrete buildings so tall, that the sunlight can barely make its way through the narrow streets. I cannot help but ponder the parallel of how our lives in the 21st century is but a microcosm of the many aspects of being in a large city like New York. You and I may not actually live in such a city, nevertheless, our senses are constantly bombarded by the “noises” of the cell phone, media, and internet. We wall ourselves in by the world, which frankly feels like it has shut out the light and lost its way taking all of us with it.

Do not be fooled! The scripture in Psalm 24 is clear. Ownership of “the world, and they that dwell therein” belong to the LORD. Even the inhabitants of a big city get lost from time to time and need help finding their way. The bright lights can be distracting, promising the glitz, glamour, fame, and fortunes of the flesh, only to deliver disappointment and despair. But God is jealous for you and me (2 Corinthians 11:2). In the poem, The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson, the author wracked by the guilt of sin writes about his effort to flee from God. Finally, exhausted from running, Thompson envisions the outstretched nail scarred hand of Jesus as he writes, “Rise, clasp my hand, and come.”

Jesus is pursuing you. Do not let the “noise” of this world deceive you. You are loved beyond measure. Reach up and take the hand of Jesus.