God’s Touch (1)
It’s easy to think that God keeps His distance, but what if the truth is that He draws closer than we dare believe—close enough to touch you?
God’s touch is the difference between mere religion and true relationship. It’s the difference between simply understanding the gospel as being true, and “believing”. To be touched by God is to be known, loved, and claimed by Him for His glory and our good.
God’s touch, according to the Bible, is when God personally gets involved in someone’s life—showing His power, love, or care in a way that brings real change. And that change can’t really be nailed down to one thing. It could be healing, or understanding, or calling, or something else. But, in the end, the touch is there to glorify God and draw us closer to Jesus and impact lives for the kingdom.
But let me clarify a bit. First – God is completely sovereign over all aspects of life. So in that sense he is providentially ordering everything for our good and his glory all the time. It’s not as if sometimes God is working and sometimes he’s not. However, if we look at the Bible carefully, there does seem to be these times when God’s actions are very personal and individual and noticeable to the believer. That’s what we’re talking about today.
Charles Spurgeon once said,
“The love of Jesus is the source of salvation. He loves, he looks, he touches us, we live.”
In this example Spurgeon is talking about God causing the spiritually dead to live because, when the time is right, he acts and the sinner’s eyes are opened and the gospel is received.
As an example of this, in Acts chapter 16 we find the story of the Apostle Paul sharing the gospel with a group of ladies and the text says that the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to pay attention to what Paul said.
Then Lydia was baptized and supported Paul in his ministry. So, here’s an example of God acting on the heart and Lydia believed. So, God acted on the Lydia’s heart so she could truly hear gospel, and then she believed.
This is actually the way belief comes about. In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, chapter 36, God says this,
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
This is a prophetic word about what God will do under the New Covenant. He is going to give and put and remove. God is going to act. He will not be distant. If you are a believer, God has done this to you.
But God doesn’t just open the heart to believe and then leave us. There are other “touches” that we’ll look at in part 2. For now, however, let’s conclude with this: As a believer, you are not left alone to walk through life alone. God has acted to open your eyes to the beauty of the gospel and is with you and managing your life to satisfy you with all he is for you.
Jesus, you are the One who never leaves his children. I’m sorry for so often wanting you to simply advance my agenda. Thank you for always doing what’s best for me. Please act and cause me to long for your ways and your fellowship.
Song: Solid Rock