1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
There was a story of a little boy who was afraid of the dark and one night when he was troubled by a thunderstorm, he cried out from his room, “Daddy, I’m scared!” The father responded, “Son, don’t be afraid; God loves you and He will take care of you.” The boy responded, “I know God loves me, but right now I need someone with skin on.” Sometimes I feel like that little boy; I know God is everywhere, but sometimes I wish I could feel Him, experience His presence physically, instead of just spiritually. Sometimes I wish I could touch Him and hug Him and crawl up into His lap and just let Him hold me. The desire to touch God is the very reason why we need other believers in our life. We sometimes forget that they can be “God with skin on.” God can fill us with His presence and we can at times feel His touch in ways that we have never experienced, but when He doesn’t come down and physically give us a hug, He can send a friend along your path to hug you when you need it the most. He may not kiss you, but when your child sees you crying, He may lead him to kiss your cheek and crawl up into your lap and hold you. Each hug, each kiss, each pat on the back can be a touch from God through the arms of one of His children.
One of the reasons I miss my child so much is that he was a cuddler and a snuggler; he loved to reach out and touch people just when they needed it the most; he loved to crawl up into my lap when I was upset or when I was crying and he would pat me on the back and literally say, “Oh, oh, oh,” and reassure me that everything would be okay. Even though nothing had changed, his presence was such a comfort to me. So often, for me, he was “God with skin on.”
Hebrews 2:9 says, “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” God has taught me over the years that Jesus is “God with skin on.” He was here on this earth and experienced everything that I am going through, He has been in the deep valleys, He has seen my weaknesses and knows my frailty, He was a human being and experienced a horrific death and all the pain and suffering that went along with it. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16.)
Whenever I feel alone, whenever I need to experience God in a physical way, I pray for it, and He is so faithful and will always provide everything I need. If I need a hug, I pray for a hug; if I need someone to talk to, I pray for a godly friend to come alongside me, and He has always provided me with every single thing I have ever asked for or needed, more abundantly than I could have ever hoped for. If you need to experience God with skin on, pray for His presence to appear in tangible ways that you can recognize and know He is near and cares about every single detail of your life.
– Melody
