NIV Once-A-Day At the Table Family DevotionalSample

The Approachable One

• Who intimidates you? What is it about that person that you find intimidating?
• What’s the best way to make someone comfortable around you?

There’s a scene in The Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy and her friends finally get to see the Wizard, and they’re scared to death. They feel the heat from the fire shooting all around them. They hear the Wizard’s booming voice. They see his giant head in front of them. And for a moment, they’re almost too terrified to bring their requests to him.

Sometimes that’s how we approach God — ​with fear and trembling. After all, he is perfect. He is the source of all power. He knows everything about us (even the really, really bad things). We should be scared of him.

Except that we don’t need to be because God has made himself approachable. He makes himself available to us. In fact, he invites us to come near him. Because he loves us, we can have a relationship with him.

Dear God, thank you for allowing us to come into your presence. Let us never lose sight of what a privilege it is to have a relationship with you. Amen.