Ever wake in the wee hours of the morning feeling unsettled, ill at ease? It happens to all of us, I think. It happened to me just last night. When it does, I can usually calm it with prayer or perhaps the humming of a hymn like "He's As Close As the Mention of His Name" by Gordon Jenson. This song is what came to me as I lay there flipping through my mind's Rolodex at three in the morning.
In the very thought of Jesus
His presence can be found
He's as close as the mention of His name
There is never any distance between my Lord and me
He's as close as the mention of His name
He's as close as the mention of His name
He's as close as the mention of His name
Jesus, Jesus
In my hour of struggle
So many times I've found
He's as close as the mention of His name
Just to breathe the name of Jesus
Can turn everything around
He's as close as the mention of His name.
John tells of a time when every night such anxiety would come upon him that he would have to get up, have a glass of water, walk around, and perhaps read before getting back to bed and to sleep. He was so exhausted from this nightly routine that he finally said to the Lord, "I don't care what happens. I don't care if I die. I am not getting up again." And that was the end of it.
Anxiety can come upon us at any time, though Believers have the remedy and the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He truly is as close as the very thought of Him. That is powerful. Further, He is present whether we are aware or not for He is always present and He is always willing to show us through as we yield to Him.
A blessed Sunday to you...
photo source: Dover Publishing
