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Drawing Near

 

When my family lived in Kansas, our home came with a “safe room.” This room was designed and built to withstand a tornado. This room was just big enough for our family to fit into along with food supplies. The door, nearly three-inches thick, had three “dead-bolt” locks in which to secure the door tightly. It was reassuring to know we had a convenient place in which to go for shelter and safety from horrific storms.

The same is true for our spiritual lives. In this fallen world, we are always in need of shelter from the tempest of “spiritual storms” that are raging around us in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

The “shelter” is, none other than, God our Heavenly Father. Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.” Even Samuel wrote in 2 Samuel 22:3, “My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation. My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.”

I hope you noticed the trend in each of those verses as they all contain “action” words that require us to make a choice. If we want to dwell in the safety of God’s sheltering presence, then we must “fight, run, and take refuge.” Those words reflect a quick and expedient decision to stay grounded in the presence of God.

How do we do that? One of those ways is James 4:8, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” We must deepen our relationship with God. Period! There is no way around that truth.

We must get comfortable with the loving intimacy God wishes to lavish upon us if we’ll seek Him in such a relationship. The Greek word James uses for “come near” means to “draw” or “to approach.” It can also be translated “to join one thing to another.”

God has no intentions of hiding or making it difficult and challenging in approaching Him or spending time with Him. He made it all possible through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ on the Cross. He has taken the initiative, made everything possible and paid the price, in full, in order for us to have a loving, personal, and intimate relationship with Him.

Can we be honest? Our sinful and human nature is what complicates things and make the relationship sporadic, distant, and challenging. That is why it is so important to never give up focusing on staying spiritually alert and always working on “drawing near” to God day by day….minute by minute.

How do we do that? Sometimes, that could be as simple as listening to Christian music on the way to work instead of secular music or perhaps, the news. Possibly, after a challenging day, we may be feeling sad or somewhat depressed. We can “draw near” to God, by turning to Scripture and reading “out loud” Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Other times, it isn’t so simple and maybe even challenging such as attending both Sunday services to sing the worship songs again….to hear our Pastor’s message again. Maybe we need to turn off the TV for the night and go on a prayer-walk around our neighborhood.

Maybe work at getting comfortable with silence and sitting still to enter into God’s presence. Try reading aloud 1 Samuel 3:10, “…“Speak, for your servant is listening.” Say that out-loud several times and then allow your spirit to hear the voice of God speaking to you.

If we will put away our distractions and willingly make the concentrated effort to seek after and draw near to God, He will join you…meet you…speak with you. He longs for such a relationship.

Allow His mysterious attributes to envelop your time together. Let these moments begin to shape and mold everything you do each day. May you be able to sing, with joy, the words of Psalm 84:1-2, “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” Draw near!

 

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