In the distance

Sometimes what we are waiting for seems far off.

A promotion at work.

A healing.

A restored relationship.

It can seem as if they are in a distant place and that no matter what we do, they’ll never come to us.

But we don’t always know what is happening in the distance, do we? I think of the story Jesus told about a son who took his father’s money “and not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.” (Luke‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NASB‬‬, emphasis mine)

The Greek word for “distant” means “long” and it can refer to a place (a far off country) or time (a long time). The son went far away and probably stayed for a long time, and while the father looked every day and saw no change, there were changes happening in the distance.

Money was running out. Parties were ending. “Friends” were leaving. A famine was beginning, and a son was remembering.

He was remembering his father and his home. Remembering the way his father took care of even his servants. The son was remembering who he was, who his father was, and what he had left behind.

And somewhere beyond the sight of the father, a turn was happening. A son was heading home.

Don’t give in for a second and believe that nothing’s happening just because you can’t see it. Psalm 139:7 reassures us that there is nowhere we can go from God’s presence. He’s in the distance, too, and He’s turning the heart of the children home.

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