Our God Is Near

Shawn Washburn

A journey of faith through the highs and lows of life

Episodes

  1. 07/04/2022

    011 WWJH What Would Jesus Hate?

    WWJH - What Would Jesus Hate   If you've been around Christian circles long enough, you'll remember when WWJD bracelets were popular back in the 90s.   It stood for What Would Jesus Do, and these popular bracelets were a way to be reminded to think about what Jesus might do in a certain situation.   How would he have loved well or what words might he have spoken?   I always liked the idea and thought it was a helpful way to keep Jesus' words and direction top of mind for those of us who follow him.     But more recently, I've found myself thinking more about WWJH... What Would Jesus Hate?   Unfortunately, ask any non-church goer in the country this question and I'm sure you'd get a pretty strong list of who they believe the church hates. It's unfortunate.   But those aren't the things that come top of mind when I think of WWJH.   No, my mind goes back more toward who and what made Jesus angry in the Bible.   And that... that was those who claimed to represent God but whose lives told another story altogether.   Those that were religious but took advantage of others.   Those that loved to be seen doing good things in public, but in private were abusers and manipulators.   The Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus day, often received the harshest of his words.   And he didn't hold back.   He called them "blind guides", "white washed tombs" and "broods of vipers"   They were supposed to be helping lead people to God, but they were sending another message altogether.   Jesus hated lack of accountability, lack of responsibility, of caring and kindness and compassion.   The people who received Jesus warmest words were those who had been on the receiving end of the abuse. The victims, the downtrodden, the outcasts and "sinners".     So, maybe, our churches today could do well to make up some WWJH bracelets and pass THOSE around. And let those bracelets bring conviction and change into the core of our church bodies.     I believe that is where we can start to see a true impact in the world around us.

  2. 07/04/2022

    010 Thank You

    I just wanted to pop in here at episode 10 and say thank you.   Thank you for taking time to listen, to walk with me on this journey and ask the questions that can help us grow in our faith and wrestle with our doubts.   I've heard from so many of you already who have told me that you've resonated with some or all of the episodes and I'm so thankful.   My desire was just to talk out loud and bring anyone along that wants to join me.   Life can be hard. Very hard. And more and more I hear stories that break my heart. Pain, abuse, depression, anxiety, despair.   There is so much of it out there. And often in the midst of it we can't see God. We can't feel Him near us.    But I believe as we reach out to him with our questions and doubts and fears, as we cry out to him from the depths of our pain... he is there. He can bring healing and hope.   And as we share with each other we can find encouragement and strength as well.   If you haven't subscribed, go ahead and do that so that you'll automatically receive new episodes when they release.   And if you know if anyone else that the podcast could help, please share it with them.   Finally, I'd love to connect and hear from you. You can find me online on Facebook and Twitter as well as shooting me a message at ourgodisnear.com   Again, thanks for listening and joining me as we walk this walk together.

  3. 06/18/2022

    009 Where Does It Hurt?

    WHERE DOES IT HURT?   The doctor asks you "Where does it hurt?" but you're not exactly sure.   So she begins to poke around to check.   Poke... Nothing.    Poke... Nothing.    Poke... yep, there it is!    When she pokes THAT spot, a jolt shoots through your body as you jump up and recoil.   She's stumbled upon the wound.   It may have been dormant for a while, but when it's poked, all the memories and flashbacks and pain and anxiety rush back.     Truth is, each of us has those spots.   They may not be clearly seen to the outside world, but beneath the surface... a thick scar. A reminder of pain we've absorbed.   It could be a loss. Loss of a parent, a friend, a sibling, a mentor ...a spouse... a child. An emptiness that remains unfilled, stirred to the surface by dates or memories.   It could be abuse. Physical. Mental. Emotional. Sexual. Years that can never be returned. A life forever changed by the actions of another.   It could be disappointment. A job that fell through. A dream that crashed and burned.   It could be rejection. A close friend who has cut ties. A child that has turned away from you. A spouse that has told you they're done with you.    It could be a wound that developed over a long span or an instantaneous blast that has forever left you scarred.     Maybe you've accidentally poked someone in their spot, bringing back a flood of emotions and pain.   Or possibly the same has happened for you. A word. A name. A place. A person. A date. A song. A smell.    And when that trigger activated your wound, it was as fresh as the day you received it.   We will never truly be free of these wounds this side of Heaven.   But God, the Divine Healer, can bring healing and bind up our broken parts.   And so often, His vehicle of choice is people.   He loves to use willing hearts, loving hands, listening ears and praying souls to bring His healing to a broken world.   Today, will you trust God once again with your wounds and your healing?   And will you be willing to also be that vessel He can use to bring healing to another?

  4. 06/18/2022

    008 Finding God - He Is Not Far From Us

    FINDING GOD... HE IS NOT FAR FROM US   Nearly every week in my Sunday school class we have a word search.   I love word searches.   Maybe it's the challenge of finding that all-elusive word, like "righteousness", that is backwards and diagonal and hidden in that big forest of letters.   As you might expect, the word "God" is present quite a bit, regardless of the topic we're covering.   But recently, it just sort of struck me as I "found God" on the word search.   It struck me because it caused me to zoom way out and look at why we were even here.   Who are we and who is God and what is the story being told here?   There is a passage in the book of Acts in the Bible that gives us a little glimpse.   The apostle Paul was in Athens and there was a tomb there to an unknown god.   He took the opportunity to share with the Athenians that this god that they were searching for knew them and could, in fact, be known by them.   He proceeds to recap the story of history and how God created men and women on this Earth, gave us life and breath and everything we needed internally and externally to live and thrive.   And how from that first man and woman the nations came about and inhabited the whole Earth.   Then there is my favorite part of the passage.   "God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." (Acts 17:27)   This just pierces to the heart of all that we long for as people.   To be sought after. To be known. To be valued. To have purpose and meaning. To be loved. To be missed.   "...he is not far from any one of us...."   I'll admit that there have been plenty of times, especially over this last year, when He has felt anything but near to me.   When I have reached for him and felt like I couldn't find him.   But I know that anytime there is a distance... He isn't the one who moved.   So I press in deeper.   He is still there to be found by each one of us. If we will seek Him.   Will you reach out for Him today?

  5. 06/18/2022

    007 Two Full Years Later

    TWO FULL YEARS LATER...   Are you in a period of waiting?    Maybe you've been struggling to feel God's presence or direction, wondering if He's heard your prayers and when things are going to change... if ever.   If you only knew how long you had to wait, you could hang in there a little bit longer.   It's hard. And some days it feels agonizing.   I was reading something recently that helped give me a little bit of hope. And maybe it will for you as well.   In the story of Joseph in the Bible, he had just interpreted the dreams of his fellow inmates and the cupbearer had told him that he would let Pharaoh know about Joseph as soon as he was out. Joseph had to be thinking any day he would be called for and delivered from his unjust imprisonment.   But one day passed. Then another.  No word.   Then a week. Two weeks. Several months.  Still nothing.   In fact, the Bible says that it was a full two years later that the next chapter in Joseph's life would take place.   I tried to stop and put myself in Josephs shoes. Two years. 730 long days of waiting.   Two years is long enough in and of itself, but not knowing when the end would come makes two years feel like ten years.   And yet, God was working in his waiting. As Joseph focused on the work God had given him to do while still in the prison, God was at work in Joseph's heart, preparing him and the country for what was about to take place next.   I would guess Joseph probably asked God on more than one occasion to deliver him from the prison. And from our birds eye view we can see that if God answered that prayer, the rest wouldn't have happened - saving his family and a nation from starvation.   And then there is you and me. We're waiting as well. We don't know if it will be a week or a month or two years until God answers or delivers or shows us the next step.   But our job is to be to be available to Him during this time. To let Him do his work in us and around us where we are. And to trust Him with orchestrating things we can't see right now.   Will you join me in leaning in to Him in a fresh way again today?

  6. 06/06/2022

    006 Immeasurably More

    IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN WE ASK OR IMAGINE   I have to think one of the most often-heard phrases, maybe in private, among Jesus' disciples was this: "I didn't know he could do that."   I know if I was one of the twelve, it would be on my mind a lot.   As they followed him, they learned over and over that there was more to him than they realized. Every time they'd encounter an obstacle, no doubt they'd look to find a solution based on what they knew of themselves, what they knew of him and the resources they had. And then He would blow their minds by doing something they never even knew was possible.   Feed five thousand people with a few fish and some bread? Just break, pray and distribute.   Calm a stormy sea? Say the word and it's still.   Heal the lame, deaf, blind? Cast out demons and then turn around and restore those who had been cast out of society?   I can picture them taking mental notes in their minds after each miracle, each encounter. Slowly building up their knowledge of what they thought Jesus was capable of.   It's one thing for us to make a big ask of someone we know has the power to fulfill our request. It's another thing entirely to ask something that we don't even think is possible.   I know I struggle with that. Maybe you do to. Even though He's proven Himself in my life and others and shown me that He is working behind the scenes, that He'll provide, that He cares, that He understands, that I'm valuable to Him. Yet, the next challenge comes along. Something new, something I haven't experienced before and suddenly I'm not sure that He's able to do anything about it.   That's why I love Paul's phrase in his letter to the church in Ephesus, where he says in Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..."   It is a challenge for us to think bigger, to ask bolder prayers, to let God handle the details and just bring Him our concerns without limiting Him in our minds or giving him a list of possible options that He can use to save us or deliver us.   In short, we need to let Him be God.   Try it today. Whatever is weighing on you... offer it back up to our all-powerful, immeasurably-more God and then step back and watch Him work.   He loves you

  7. 06/05/2022

    005 What Breaks And Heals The Heart

    WHAT BREAKS AND HEALS THE HEART   The heart is a powerful thing.   It is strong beyond belief.   The heart can withstand just about anything.   Pressure. Stress. Disappointment. Pain.    But there is one thing that can crumple even the biggest and purest of hearts.   Rejection.   For those hearts that love deeply, whose passion is to pour themselves out into those they love.   For those hearts that delight to bring others joy and fulfillment.   For those hearts that ache when others ache and beam when others succeed.   For those hearts that would go to any length to love those dearest to them.   When that love is rejected, by spouse or child or parent or friend.   When that love is returned back unwanted, unused.   That... is what can break even the biggest heart.   It's a "no thanks", a "return to sender", a "no soliciting" sign.   And if you've yourself there, standing outside the locked door to someone else's heart, with your love still there in your hands... I understand.   It can be painful. It can be confusing. It can bring an emptiness and ache that you're not sure can be healed.   But don't give up. Know that there so many who still need your love.   There are lives around you that need your big heart. That will accept your love. That will understand and appreciate your heart.   I've seen it play out. And God loves to connect hearts that love with souls that need loving.   I have felt the rejection.   But I've also felt the healing that comes from loving well those that want to be loved.   If that's you tonight, ask God to direct you.   Offer up your heart to Him.   And ask him to connect you with those who need it most.   He loves to do that. And you'll find that He can take your ache and use it to bless people you may never have even met before.   God placed that love in your heart to begin with. And He knows just where He wants to use it.   Be willing to try again. And trust Him for the timing and direction.   God's love will fill those chambers of your heart.   And it will be full again.

  8. 06/05/2022

    004 Where Do Our Prayers Go

    WHERE DO OUR PRAYERS GO?   Sometimes I wonder if there is a secret shelf in Heaven.   Tucked away in some room... a dusty old shelf that is piled high with prayers.   Prayers that seemingly never received an answer.   Not a "yes". Not a "no". Just a nothing... at least that we can see.   Maybe, just maybe, if we visited this special room we could see the shelf.   And on that shelf, we could brush off the dust, rummage through and find those prayers that we've sent up over the years.   Prayers of desperation, offered up at the end of our rope, when we had nothing left.   Prayers sprinkled with the tears of loss or loneliness or pain.   Prayers torn like our hearts, crumpled from our anger.   Some of them just single word prayers... Help!... Please... Why?... When?   Other prayers so painful that there aren't even any words. Just blank pages that tell their own story.   None sent on accident. None offered up carelessly.   Not on that shelf.   No, that shelf only holds the earnest prayers of wounded souls.   Prayers offered up day after day, week after week, year after year.   As we wait and wonder.   "God, are you listening? Do you care?"   "God, when will you heal?... when will you act?... when will you rescue me?"   "God, how long will this last?"   "God, do you understand my pain? Do you feel my emptiness?"   "God, I'm not sure I can make it through..."     Truth is, there is a shelf.   In fact, there are a lot of shelves.   But they're not in Heaven. They're in our homes.   Shelves filled not with our prayers, but with God's promises... from His love letter to us. The Bible.   Each promise speaks to us about those questions, those longings, the things that break us.   "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."   "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;"   "The Lord is near to all who call on him... he hears their cry"   He hears. He loves. He is with us.

  9. 06/04/2022

    003 Go Get Your Spouse

    GO GET YOUR SPOUSE...   Jesus had a way of mixing things up, doing the unusual and saying things that raised eyebrows.   I've read this passage in John 4 tons of times over my lifetime. It's one of my favorites, because of the magic that happens.   It's the story of Jesus and the woman at the well.   I love it because she was coming to get one thing that day and came away with something unexpected.   I love it because it gives us a glimpse into not only Jesus' omniscience but also his deep love for our story and brokenness.   I love it because it shows Jesus is always up to something we don't even know about.   There are so many things I love about it.   And yet, I found myself reading it in a new way today that hit me powerfully.   The woman had come to draw water from the well, as she often did.   But in verse 14, Jesus tells her he has water that can basically quench her thirst forever.   He has tapped into a longing within her. The idea of meeting a deep need with an eternal resource.   In verse 15, she is all in and wants to find out how to get the water.   And then... then instead of just saying he is that source of living water, Jesus does something else.   He tells her to go and get her husband.   Jesus knew her story of broken relationships and pain and he went straight to the source of her emptiness.   "Go and get your husband..."   He knew she didn't have a husband before she even replied.   It's a fascinating request. And one that had totally different meaning to me today.   It was as if I was there with Jesus, asking for something to fill my emptiness and he told me "Go and get your wife," knowing full well he had just struck deep into the very source of my pain and brokenness.   As I read this today, I could feel Jesus has the balm for our wounds but wants us to recognize he knows just how deep those wounds are.   Jesus wants to bring new life and hope to YOU today as well.   What would he ask YOU to do? Where are you broken, empty, grieving, lost?   Let Jesus fill those places with his living water.

  10. 06/03/2022

    002 Empty

    EMPTY   If I asked you how you're feeling these days, is it possible that this is a word that might come to your lips?   Maybe because of a vacant space at the table or a voice missing in the room. A familiar face and laugh that won't be seen or heard this year.   Maybe because things this year haven't gone the way you ever would have wanted and you just feel drained.   Maybe you feel the weight of financial stress that has you reeling and wondering if it's possible to ever get out from under it.   Maybe you're struggling with an illness that has sidelined or isolated you and you wonder if or when things will change.   Maybe you're walking through a divorce and experiencing the grieving of so many things that you once held dear but have been crumbling around you.     Whatever it might be for you, emptiness is real. I feel it too.   It is a vacuum where joy once resided, a space where hope once lived, a dark place where the sun once shone brightly.   I don't have a magic pill to fill the emptiness or some magic powder that you can mix with water to bring back the joy and wipe away the pain.   But I do know that we have not been left here on this earth to just stay empty and figure things out on our own.   That's the very hope of Christmas. The very reason that Jesus came to earth was to walk among us, to experience the pain that we feel, be rejected like us, know what it's like to lose a friend, be misunderstood, hated, betrayed, scorned, mocked, tempted, doubted, and left alone.   Emmanuel.   God. With. Us.   The one who created our very heart came to heal it's broken pieces.    The one who formed our tear ducts came to sit with us when they have ran dry.   The one who understands and loves us more than we could ever imagine came... for us.   He came as a baby on that special night over 2000 years ago to drive a stake in the ground of history.   A God you can actually know. Came for you... and me.   That emptiness we feel?   It can only really be filled by the one who came for our hearts.   Give him your pain, your loss, your grief, your fear, your anxiety, your future, your plans... your life.   Let him fill you and walk with you and bring healing.   God came near.

  11. 06/02/2022

    001 Intro to Our God Is Near

    Hey friends, so glad you stopped over to check out the podcast.   Let me just say up front who this podcast is for.   If you are someone who has ever asked questions about life, wrestled with faith, been through trials, wondered if brighter days would ever come your way, then this podcast is for you.   If you've ever felt alone, struggled through a day, or week or chapter of your life, this podcast is for you.   If you've ever just needed some hope, some encouragement, a ray of light shining through your cloudy sky.   If you've wanted to make a difference in your world and questioned if God still can use you. This is for you.     I wasn't intending to create a new podcast, but a lot has been happening over the last year and as I have been writing about it and about my faith and wrestling, and it seemed that a great way to collect those thoughts would be through a podcast.   So, thanks to my friends who urged me to record these to make them more widely available.   As opposed to podcasts I've done in the past, with either bi-weekly or daily episodes, these will be a bit different.   I can't say right now that there will be any specific frequency at the moment. I may get to that in the future but for now it will be more sporadic.   Now, about the podcast name.   I had several other ideas for a name. One of them I had been mulling over for quite a while but then realized it was already being widely used and I felt it could get confusing in the podcast space.   So, I asked God to show me what might be a good name. What would help encapsulate the nature of these episodes. These questions.   And then one day, three verses all came together in my mind and brought me to the podcast name, "Our God Is Near".   The first is Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."   This had been a verse I've come back to many times over the last year. It speaks to the love that our God has for us, for the understanding he has of our circumstances. That word "crushed" can encapsulate so much of how we feel when going through really difficult times in our lives. And even when it feels at times that God is distant or silent, Our God is near.   The second verse is from James 4:8, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." I love this one because it speaks to God's heart for us when we are going through hard times. We have two choices. Curse God, refuse to believe that he exists and walk away from Him. Or engage Him. And engaging Him can mean questioning Him, pouring ourselves out to Him, even being angry with Him. He wants us to come to Him rather than walk away. He is big enough. He can take our questions and hurt and anger. As we draw near to our God, our God is near.   The final verse comes from Philippians chapter 4. It talks about how God being near to us can allow us to have a peace in the midst of anxiety. "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."   And there are so many other instances from the gospels where Jesus' presence brought peace, healing, hope, worth, redemption.   So I hope you'll join me on this short episodes as we explore this world together, walk through the hard and difficult parts of life, and seek to let God's nearness heal us, bring us hope and purpose and give us a new perspective.

  • 11 Episodes

About

A journey of faith through the highs and lows of life

Information

  • Creator
    Shawn Washburn
  • Years Active
    2022
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022
  • Show Website
    Our God Is Near