Can you imagine if God took the yelling from a distance approach to redirecting His children? Take, for example, the disciples. Jesus spent a couple years with them as He did public ministry on earth. If you’ve read through the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), you’ve seen that Jesus had to have patience with His disciples. They often didn’t understand what He was saying, they bickered amongst themselves at times, and they seemed to forget about things Jesus had said or done. If those were my disciples, I know I would have lost my cool with them a time or two. My frustration would have given way to shortened patience and possibly even anger. I may have adopted my coworker’s method and yelled in exasperation.

But I love that even though the disciples needed things repeated, needed to be redirected, and sometimes needed to be rebuked, Jesus didn’t holler at them from afar. He was close. He corrected them within the context of relationship. He walked alongside them and engaged in conversations that slowly but surely taught them what they needed to know. Jesus modeled the way He wanted them to live—right in front of their eyes, literally. When they needed a course correction, Jesus was right there next to them, preparing them for when He would not be right there next to them anymore after His ascension back into Heaven. 

When I’m redirecting students in that cafeteria and also in my classroom, I often sneakily “redirect” them through conversation. For example: Today my students were reading our current novel together in small groups. I could see from across the room that one of the groups had gotten into an argument. Instead of yelling at them from where I was, I walked over, sat down at their table, and struck up a conversation. Tempers were flaring, and these usually agreeable ninth graders just needed some authoritative guidance in solving a problem. Could the problem have been solved if I’d yelled, “Hey! Get back on task and get to work!”…? Yes. Maybe. But by pulling up a chair, getting on their level and talking my students through their disagreement, not only was I able to help them land on a peaceful compromise, I was also able to model what it looks like to work together with a team even on a day you might not really feel like it. 

God makes a habit of coming close to His children throughout Scripture. While we know He is currently (and has been) reigning from a glorious throne in Heaven, He does not just stay up there and speak to us through a megaphone. No! He meets His people where they are. Case in point: 

• When it was God’s appointed time for the Israelites to be freed from their Egyptian slavery, did God yell out instructions for how they were to approach Pharoah and leave for the Promised Land? No, He came close. He called Moses through a burning bush that wasn’t burning, and then He spoke to Moses again and again, telling him exactly what to say and do to lead the nation out of Egypt.
• When the Israelites rebelling against God at various times throughout their history, did God just holler at them from the sky? No, He came close. He sent prophet after prophet to talk to the people, rebuke the people as needed, encourage the people, lead them to repentance, and tell them about their God. 
• When God was ready to send His Son into the world, did He shout down to Mary about what was going to happen? Hey, Mary! Can you hear me? You’re going to be pregnant soon even though you’re a virgin, but don’t freak out! It will be a child conceived by the Holy Spirit, and He will be my Son! No, He came close. God sent an angel to appear to Mary and tell her what she needed to know about the miracle that was about to take place. 

We could go on and on looking through the Bible for these examples. But perhaps the best example of all is the way God came near to us when we were in desperate need of a Savior. Seeing His beloved creation withering away in sin, did God just stay up on His throne yelling down advice and instructions to try people back on the right track? No, He came close. He sent His very son, Jesus, to live on earth, preach the Good News, die on the cross, and rise back to life with a final defeating blow to sin and death. How thankful are you for this?!

If you’re looking for God in a situation in your life, don’t look too far. In 1 Kings 19, when the prophet Elijah was feeling discouraged and hopeless, He retreated into a cave on a mountain. He had been faithfully doing God’s work, but he was in a moment when He needed God’s help, encouragement and touch. Scripture says that God did not come to Elijah from afar—He came close. 

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” -1 Kings 19:11-13

There was an earthquake and a fire, but God came to Elijah with a gentle whisper. God will come close to you, too. Watch for Him. Listen for Him. He comes close.