2011-03-09T15:14:09-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com /feeds/topics/close/ http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-hard-times/step-back-and-see-it-better-6299 2011-03-09T15:14:09-05:00 You see, pain tends to make us very self-focused and self-absorbed. Our eyes start to cross, and the situation starts to blur, and we start thinking in circles. Serving restores your perspective. Now, when you feel the least like doing it, is probably when you most need to do it, to get your perspective back. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2034:18&version=NIV 2009-09-25T09:07:21-05:00 We often find in the Bible that God's grace is most present in the lives of the weak, the humble, and the downtrodden. This passage notes that those who are broken down in spirit are the closest to God. http://hutchcraft.com/A-Word-With-You/Your-Most-Important-Relationship/God-Up-Close-5686 2008-10-27T10:37:05-05:00 If you've looked up at the night sky recently and thought about all those galaxies out there, or looked out over the majesty of the ocean or the mountains, you can get to feeling kind of small. The God who made all that can seem pretty far away. And that's too bad because, in so many ways, you really need God to be close right now, don't you, for the challenges you're facing, for the love you need, for the peace, or for the answers that only God can give you.