2 Thessalonians 2:16 -May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 -Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.

We as Christians desire a personal relationship—a oneness—with our Creator and our Lord and Savior, no question! Through prayer, Bible study, fasting and meditation, we learn and progress in developing that intimate relationship. We know that type of deep, personal relationship doesn’t happen overnight and will require a lifetime devoted to God and Christ. But there are seasons in life where it’s easy for us to fall into a view of God and Christ as “up there” past the sky and stars. I do believe that God has a throne in Heaven, Christ is seated at His right side, and the Earth is His footstool. And I believe that shows how great and powerful our Creator God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are. In size and comparison, we are less than a speck of sand (read descriptions of this in Job 38:31 and Isaiah 40:12).

There is no doubt that we serve a great and powerful God and that we are very insignificant in comparison.

But even though compared to God and Christ, we are very weak and tiny, I believe They value and adore the lives of each of us more than we can or will ever understand.

God and Christ are so invested in us they choose to be in-tune with our every thought and feeling. Consider 1 Chronicles 28:9: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.”

They hang on to every word that is spoken from our mouths and every action we make! Or read Psalm139:1-4: “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.²You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.³You comprehend my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.⁴For there is not a word on my tongue,
but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”

That’s why in 2 Thessalonians when it’s stated that the “Lord of peace Himself” or “Jesus Christ Himself and God” will do something, we should look at that differently and with more meaning. We should be humbled by the fact that even though God and Jesus Christ have a heavenly home and have messengers to do what they ask; they themselves come to you and me! They themselves bring us peace, encouragement and blessings. They choose to make their dwelling place inside of you and I and not just a second home. God could accomplish all of His will from heaven, yet He chooses to come down to be with His children; to be right next to us and cheer us on with joy for every successful step we make. And He also chooses to pick us up when we fall, with love and compassion. I am stunned and in awe that the God I serve would care for me so much!

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (NLT). I hope we find great comfort in the fact we have chosen to serve a great God and great King who are with us always. In David’s praise to God in Psalm 145:18, he wrote, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” How near? Right next to you! Right inside of you! That’s how close He is.

So the next time you feel distant from your Creator and Lord and Savior, keep the following thoughts in mind.

God and Christ are with you!

In your trials and moments of un-belief, know that God and Jesus Christ are closer to you than you think. Find time to re-center your thoughts and feelings onto Them through meditation, singing, prayer, and Bible study in a quiet environment. In doing so, you will find that your countenance will begin to change as your spirit begins to align with that of God’s. Aligning our spirit with God’s brings a feeling of closeness and peace that can hardly be described.

“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works” (Psalm 73:28 NASB).

You are worth it!

Acknowledging that we are small and that God and Christ are great doesn’t mean that you and I have insignificant value to our Creator and our King. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We are of much value that a life of a God was sacrificed for us so that we could have a chance to be part of the family of God! Our calling to God’s way of life, through the suffering and shed blood of Christ, was made in hopes of you and I answering that call. If we weren’t of such great value and weren’t designed to have such a great potential, God wouldn’t have wasted His time dealing with us humans. Remind yourself continually that your life is worth something; it was worth the life of our King Jesus Chris. Believe that and cement that in your heart.

Read these scriptures for encouragement.

Ephesians 2:4-9

Romans 5:8

Psalm 139:13-15

Matthew 6:25-33

May you be encouraged and find peace in understanding your worth, and how close God and Christ are to you always.