“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” (James 4:7-10 NLT)
"Come close to God and God will come close to you." The King James Bible says if we “draw near” to God He will “draw near” to us. That is an amazing promise! When we open ourselves up to the Lord He opens heaven up for us. When we come to Him in surrender, repentance, and brokenness, He hurries to answer with forgiveness, love, and faithfulness. God, His love, His faithfulness, and His forgiveness have been there since before the universe was created. We are the ones who sinned against God and ever since He has been calling us to “draw near” to Him.
Many people have this “get close,” but “not too close” attitude. Closeness to some people has a limit. But with God there is nothing ever too close. There is also nothing that is too far away. Have we ever thought about giving God all control in our life? Wait a minute Pastor, that’s toooooo close for comfort. Satan wants to deceive us and have us to believe that we cannot do that. That means God will know everything and see everything that happens in my life. Trust me He already sees and knows. What could be closer than that? Everything that happens to us has already come across God’s desk. He is not surprised.
There is no room for self-sufficiency or self-protection in this interaction. Only in the humility of helplessness will we discover the all-consuming peace and love of His presence.
At first glance, we may seem to be the ones who begin this open relationship, but in reality, it is all God’s idea. We are merely responding. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.” (John 6:44 NLT) Many times He uses situations and difficulties to get our attention and motivate us to seek Him.
What appears to us to be a painful or desperate situation is His invitation to draw near. When we feel overwhelmed and there is no hope or no way out, He invites us to draw near. Imagine what would happen if we accept God’s invitation to draw near and then actually let him take over. With God nothing is impossible.
Even our greatest failures and mistakes can lead us to Christ. We seek to make up for our mistakes with an attitude of humble repentance. Hopefully we learn and we can enter into a more cherished relationship with God.
However, if you and I continue living in rebellion and are unwilling to confess and repent, He will not open up and reveal more of Himself to us. Satan can step in and use this to his advantage to draw you and me AWAY from God. Sin always blocks our ability to know the Lord.
Have we let hardship or failure make us feel like we are pulling away from God instead of moving toward Him? Or do we believe God has forgotten us and pulled away from us? When there is this feeling of moving away or being left alone, God is still there. He is still God and He is still in control.
Satan knows this and will remind us and will misuse any situation to deceive us into thinking that we are abandoned and there is nothing we can do because after all, we are human. And we are all sinners. But I affirm, on the Word of God, we are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. But these are the very situations that the Lord can utilize to draw us to Himself. Don't let the enemy, his deceit, and his lies win the battle. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NLT)
Accept the invitation. Draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to you.
Hello Again!!
7 years ago
