This month I had a brief spiritual encounter. It was a flash, a sense of Jesus standing in front of me in person. It felt as unexpected as seeing a dear friend in the supermarket. A big smile on both our faces, we embrace, and our hearts swell with joy and happiness. People eventually have to leave, but this feeling of His closeness has not vanished.
When you walk into a room …
I’ve carried this sense of the physical reality of Jesus’ nearness these last two weeks since my encounter. The physical reality of Jesus’ proximity to me.
A few days after that spiritual encounter, my husband and I were at The Rusty Rooster antique store nearby looking for garden statuary. They had a fresh supply that day. A five-foot, white concrete Jesus Sacred Heart statue caught my eye immediately. It drew me magnetically. I wanted it for our garden; however, it was too heavy for us to lift, even with a hand cart.
We left without the Sacred Heart, but St Francis of Assisi accompanied us and now graces our pollinator garden. Seeing his granite statuary blesses me, knowing he was Italian (as am I) and a patron of ecology.
Back to the nearness of Jesus’s presence.
I cannot escape this physical feeling of His nearness (and don’t want to). Nearness is defined as “the state of being in a very personal or private relationship.” Synonyms for nearness are: intimacy, kinship, love, devotion, belonging, devotedness, chumminess, attachment, familiarity, friendship, and closeness. Its antonyms speak loudly as well: distance, reserve, remoteness, and aloofness.
God has this way of confirming His voice to us. I join my Florida church family for Sunday service online. As I worshiped with them today, we sang “When you walk into a room, everything changes.”
It confirmed my supernatural encounter that King Jesus is near. He is close by and not leaving. Eventually He will be physically seen by all. Right now, He is communicating His nearness to all who have ears to hear.
Resurrection power comes with Him when He walks into the room. Or the garden, if you’re like me.
Healing power accompanies Him.
So does peace.
“You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth.” Psalm 119:151
“The Lord is near to ALL who call upon HIm, to all who call upon Him in truth.” Psalm 145:18
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off (remote, distant, reserved or aloof to God) have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13
Think about this for a second. Have you ever felt that Jesus was remote?
Have you ever intentionally kept a heart posture toward God that was distant, aloof, or hard, like an invisible wall YOU erected with a sign reading “Keep Out, God”?
I have. Oh yeah, hand raised here. Not interested in You, Your assignments, or Your requirements. Not interested in Your hypocritical people, either.
Look at that verse from Ephesians 2 again, will you?
His blood, the blood of an innocent human-incarnate-God/man HAS BROUGHT US – ALL OF US near to the very throne of the triune, three-part God. “And Jesus came and preached peace to you who were AFAR OFF and to those who were near,” reads Ephesians 2:17.
The encounter I was fortunate to experience this month was not solely for me. Its’ purpose was to tell you that Jesus is nearby. If He had a cell phone and the Find My Phone app, you could track Him and see that He is in your neighborhood. Seriously. “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8 NKJV).
Jesus is nearby. For me, He walks in my garden with me in the early morning cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). He LONGS to sit with you, quietly, silently telegraphing the depth of His mysterious love for YOU, beloved one.
If the sense of His proximity is not enough, it gets better. He is coming back to earth. Yep. He really is.
Revelation chapter 22 promises us … His servants shall SEE HIS FACE and His name shall be on their foreheads.” Whoa!
Kathryne Leach 
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