He calls us to be close.

He says draw near.

Is he draw nears to us, he invites us to draw near to him.

Then when we get this larger story of how this is all his initiative, we realize that

he does not reluctantly invite us to draw near, nor does he reluctantly come near to us.

This is his very desire. This is his very desire. This is

his inclination. This is what he wants to do. And of course, we can be belligerent children and

incorrigible children who want to go our own way. Yet the desire of God is to be close to his people.

Welcome to the Crossway podcast, a show where we sit down with authors each week for thoughtful

interviews about the Bible, theology, church history, and the Christian life.

I'm Matt Tully, and today I'm talking with Ed Welch.

That is a counselor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation.

He's been counseling for more than 35 years and has written extensively on the topics of depression, fear, and addiction.

His most recent book is called Created to Draw Near, Our Life as God's Royal Priests, published with Crossway.

Today, Edon I discuss the human need for relationship, both with God and with other people.

He reflects on the epidemic of loneliness in our world today, what the Bible teaches us

about our identity as priests under God, and offers advice for the person who feels God is

distant or even perpetually frustrated with them.

Let's get started.

Ed, thank you so much for joining us today on the Crossway podcast.

It's really a pleasure to be with you, Matt.

So I think there's been a lot of studies over the last few years, and even in the last year or so,

...