by Rev Douglas Brauner

Drawing near to God.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

There are around 350 wild horses, that roam 2,000 acres of land, at the Deerwood Ranch Wild Horse EcoSanctuary. The only human intervention is the hay fed to them during the winter months. No vets. No shoeing. No riding. Yet these horses are amazingly healthy, and curious.

Deerwood Ranch Wild Horse EcoSanctuary, Centennial, Wyoming

We rode in the back of a truck to different groups of horses. The horses didn’t run from us. Instead they kept their heads down, feeding on the lush grass. We climbed out of the truck and walked up to the horses, but most of them wouldn’t walk up to us.

However, there were a few curious horses.

I knelt on the ground to see what would happen, and two horses approached me. I slowly extended my hand to one of them, but it remained at a distance. When I held out my hand to the other horse, it gently touched my hand with its lips.

“Come close to God, and he will come close to you.” 
James 4:8 God’s Word to the Nations

James writes these words to Christians, to people who already have been captivated by the love of God in Christ Jesus. He is writing these words for us, because we too know the mercy of God in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Sometimes we’re curious about God’s ways, but we don’t want to get too close. Drawing near to God might mean change in our lives. We might have to deal with our anger, stubbornness, and pride.

We want to be in the presence of Jesus, but not too close. Yet, at other times we simply want our lips to touch the hand of the Master. We want to be close to the one who has changed our destiny.

Christ not only wants to touch our lips, but to embrace us completely. He desires to draw near to us.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado