I recently finished watching the PBS series "Carrier". It followed a six month tour of duty for the U.S.S. Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. It appeared to some on the ship that they weren't doing much. In six months there, the planes flying missions over Iraq never dropped a single bomb. So those on the boat felt that their mission was unimportant, but the pilots had a different perspective. They were often 20,000 feet up watching the movements of troops on the ground, prepared at a moment to swoop from the sky and give support to ground troops or to take out approaching enemies. These pilots commented on how many times they were told by ground commanders that even though they didn't engage the enemy, it gave their troops confidence to know someone was nearby, though unseen, that could help out at a moment's notice.
We read these words here against Egypt and find that there is a great destruction coming. Part of it is due to the disobedient Jews who fled there, but Egypt had plenty of reasons for God to bring judgement upon them. As God finishes talking about more destruction, He gives some final words of comfort to His people. He promises that He is near, even when they can't clearly see or hear Him. While they see the nations fall around them, those nations are being brought down without plans to restore them. God tells Judah that even though He needs to punish them to bring correction, He is still there. He hears their cries as they feel crushed under the weight of His judgment. God isn't hands off. He doesn't send angels to do His bidding while He remains aloof and uninvolved. Whether good moments or bad, God is constantly near to us as children of God. God's presence never leaves us. Have you ever prayed and felt that God wasn't available to hear? It's not because He's too far away...it may be because you are. Judah had much sin in their lives, and as a result they felt a disconnect from God, but He was still there and waiting for their ultimate repentance. If you have sin in your life, you are likely exaggerating the distance that exists between you and God. He's still around, but He's waiting for you to make the big decisions for change instead of ignoring your sin. Even as I write this, I do so recognizing that God is in the room with me right now. There is nowhere I can go that He cannot.
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