Nov 7, 2018
Come near to God and
he will come near to you. James 4:8
God wants to be in
our lives but He waits on us to take the first step.
We take God for granted way too much.
Jesus taught us: “Come to me, all who are weary, and I will
give you rest.” James repeats it,
saying: “Come to God and He will come
near to you.” I wonder if we ever really
think about how amazing and blessed that gift from God really is.
Remember that this is the God who is Creator and Lord over
the universe. This is the same God who
made man in His own image, and gave us life and breath. It is also the one who offered us free will,
and permitted us to sin against Him.
This same God created multitudes from Abraham, protected Noah in a
cataclysmic flood, rescued a million Israelites from Egypt, positioned David to
lead His kingdom, and gave Solomon his wisdom.
Then this God was willing to send His Son as a man, and let Jesus die in
our place. That God, who is beyond us,
wants us to come near Him!!! How blessed
and fortunate we are!!
This God, who by all rights should have rejected every one of
us for our sin & rebellion, gives us love unconditionally. This is Holy God – in fact, He is Holy, Holy,
Holy!!! By all rights, we are unable to
enter His Presence, and so filthy with sin, we should never be saved. This God is patient, waiting and watching for
us to come to Him. And at the first sign
we are ready to take a step toward Him, God comes running to us!!! Like the story of the prodigal son, God is a
prodigal Father – ready to shower us with His extravagant eternal blessings
whenever we come back to Him.
That’s why James exhorts us to Come Near to God! We cannot make the trip alone, because we are
unable to enter His Presence. Yet God
draws near to us, longing for fellowship with His children. What an amazing God! What an incredible blessing! What an awesome privilege!
Yet here we are, too busy for church, too tired to crack
open His Word, too worried to pray. This
amazing God is ready to come running, but we stand off in the distance, living
for ourselves, looking for our own fortunes, expecting God to meet our desires
yet butt out of our lives.
You and I have been given a privilege beyond measure. Don’t take it for granted, and don’t leave
the gift unopened. Draw near to God, and
watch the miracle that happens when He draws near to you.
Go ahead, take that first step!
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