God’s Surprising Intimacy

By Matt Reffie

There are a handful of times in my life where God has surprised and ‘spoken’ to me even more overtly than I’d ever expected. At a time when I was feeling particularly discouraged with the re­turn on my efforts in life, I was grumbling internally (partly to God, but mostly to myself) as I walked the short distance from my mom’s house down the street to my dad’s. It was late at night, and dark save for a few dim street lights. I was so spiraling in my frustrations that at first I didn’t notice the man bik­ing towards me on the sidewalk. We lived in a col­lege town, so while this was unusual, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to come across something unusual late at night.

As he approached passing distance of me and I shifted to make way, the biker wobbled a bit, then lost his balance altogether and tumbled down onto the sidewalk and into the road. There was no traffic this time of night, but as I helped the man up (he looked to be in his 40s, rather than the college age I was expecting) I could tell he was pretty well drunk and not in optimal night-time biking condition. We got him to his feet, checked for any alarming injury, and I offered a few times to help him home. While he politely declined and thanked me, my mind had already started back to my spiraling, including judg­ing the man and the situation. Why was the world such a mess? Why do I end up always helping peo­ple? Is there a point to anything I do? Will it make any difference? (I think I may have been simulta­neously reading Nietzsche and Ecclesiastes around that time.)

As I began to turn and continue on my path the man thanked me once more and I gave a reassuring ‘No problem,’ or something of the sort, as a last word in the matter. But rather than continue on, now walk­ing his bike, he more emphatically interrupted my meager politeness and added some last words I’m not sure were entirely his own. He said, “No, HE thanks you,” and pointed up to the sky, then held it a moment as if to make sure I caught his meaning.

I don’t remember anything of the encounter beyond that, but to this day weep at the remembrance of being and feeling seen and heard by the God of the universe. And anytime I’m feeling down or discour­aged about life and ministry, God brings me back to those ‘last words’ He spoke to me on a weird quiet night in a small college town.

He’s here. He’s with us. He knows us. Amen.

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Matt Reffie is an itinerant minister and armchair philosopher who enjoys writing deep, thought-provoking themes through engaging and accessible stories. His traveling circus-like upbringing, traversing the country selling at antique trade shows with his dad, has instilled in him a great appreciation for diverse experiences, as well as engaging local histories. He believes that each story leading up to a major event is just as im­portant and interesting as the benchmarks that write our history. He also enjoys short walks (but only if there is a purposeful destination in mind).