January 14, 2026 -- Psalm 145:18-19 -- What is God like? He is near

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The LORD is near to all who call on him
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
Psalm 145:18-19 ESV
 
One of the most dramatic letters I’ve ever received came to me from a man I’ll call “Don”. We’d met at a drug and alcohol recovery centre. He was rather proud, hard, and flippant about the ministry I was engaged in. One week I showed up as usual to teach and I was told Don had been picked up by police. A few weeks later, unexpectedly, I saw him in prison. He was alone in a soundproof room with windows; a room used for inmates to receive calls for their court proceedings. He was alone. Anxious. Broken. He saw me and we both recognized each other instantly. He was so happy to see a familiar face in such a hard place that instinctively he put up his hand to the window, and I raised mine to equal height and pressed it to the glass as well. The guard moved me along as there was a class I needed to teach. I lost track of him after that.
 
Then, out of the blue, many months later, I receive a letter. Don wrote to say he was in the SHU (Special Holding Unit, segregation). He was so broken. So lonely. So isolated. He contemplated calling out to the devil; instead, an urgent prompt made him call out to Jesus instead. The time at the recovery centre had introduced him to Jesus. The exposure to believers had given to him an unexpected life-line available to him at his darkest hour. He grabbed it. God did exactly what He promised, He was near to Don and begin the process of healing his soul. Then through the imprisonment, and two and a half years thereafter, worked in and through his circumstances; Don is now free from addiction, walking in obedience to Jesus, and his life is a testimony to the truth that God does not ignore those who call out to Him. To be sure he still has challenges, having been in prison and finding work afterwards, well that is very hard. He is grateful for all God has done and is doing.
 
Your life and your burdens are your own. Whatever they are, be assured that the LORD will hear you when you cry out. Don’s story is his own. Your life and your struggles are your own and are uniquely designed so that you will cry out to the One Who has already designed your rescue in Jesus Christ and has the Spirit at the ready to bring into your life the fullness of hope and life and healing that is available through Jesus.
 
Lord Jesus, thank You for the help You have given to Don. Continue Your healing work in every area of his life so that through his testimony many others will come to Jesus.
Kind Father, hear us when we call to You. Sometimes it seems the rescue is for others, but not for me. Do as You promise here in this psalm, hear, answer, and save. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/p70l3YCVmrY?si=ilf7jXNWAWxMnF-X Hear My Prayer
 

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