God is not distant

  Deism is an 18th Century heresy which espouses that God, although having created the universe, really doesn't do anything.  According to this view, God created us and left us to do whatever we want, and He doesn't care at all.
  This heresy is most comfortable to believe, and tickling to the ears, for it satisfies the intellectual problems that would be created by an atheistic worldview, while allowing those who believe it to live in sin as much as they want.
  Now may I suggest that perhaps, we have incorporated some aspects of this damnable heresy into our way of thinking?
   Now hold on a minute, you may say, I know better than that! Of course you do. So does every Christian on the face of this earth! But just hear me out. There may be a reason behind my apparent madness.
   When Jesus and His disciples were out on the sea, Jesus went to take a nap, and while He was sleeping, a big tempest of a storm blew up.  The disciples awoke Him, fearing for their lives (and quite forgetting who it was they had on board!).  Jesus responded: Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? And he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm (Matt. 8:26).
   The disciples of Christ had committed the same error that we often commit - they had doubted that Jesus would actually save them from that dreadful tempest.  They cried out "Lord, save us, for we perish!", but they said it out of fear, not of faith.
   We often tend to perceive God as distant, forgetting that His spirit dwells within us. When the storms of life arise and engulf us, all we can see is the problem, and not the solution.  Even though God promises to do great things, and even work out everything for good in the lives of them that love Him (Rom. 8:28), we see no way in which we can have victory.
   I have stressed this previously, and I will stress it again - it is imperative that we make God the Father, and Jesus Christ His Son, the center of our thinking.  He is not distant!  His Spirit dwells within us! Let us never for a moment allow ourselves to forget this.  For the moment we start picturing God as the deists did, trouble starts to happen.  It is much easier then for us to be tempted with doubts, as well as being tempted to sin.
   Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).  We must trust God, although everything else may seem uncertain. 
    Let us not therefore wallow in defeat, when we could be marching in victory. Let us not lay down the armor of God, and fight using our bare hands. May we instead recognize that the eternal God is WITH US ALWAYS, even to the end of the world (Matt. 28:20).  He shall not suffer our foot to be moved (Psa. 121:3).