Draw Near to God

James 4:8 ~ "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."

Oh how the Christian heart longs to draw near to the Savior!

But how can we draw near? For the promise is clear, that if we draw near to Him, he will draw near to us. Yet what engineering feat must happen in order to find our way to the presence of the Almighty God?

The descendants of Noah thought that they could accomplish this task. Genesis 11:4 reveals, "Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.'" They wanted to build a tower that would reach the heavens. They were unwilling to do what God required, which was "fill the whole earth" so they determined the best course of action would be to build a structure that kept everyone together and one that would seat them with the Almighty--in the heavens. But disobedience to the LORD does not bring a people closer to Him. In fact, you will never disobey your way to a closer fellowship with God. Thus, with their languages confused, God forced them to scatter across the earth (see Genesis 11:8).

Perhaps we can find our way into the presence of the Almighty with great, personal sacrifice? The prophet, Micah, asked a similar question in Micah 6:6, "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?" God is pleased with the loving sacrifices of His people, but just making grand sacrifices does not guarantee a place in the presence of the Almighty. The indomitable presence of God is not for sale or rent. You cannot buy your way to the LORD.

How, then? When the Christian longs for Christ and the desire to be near to the Almighty rises in the heart, what must a believer do? Simple--you must humble yourself before the LORD.

The next part of the text for today reads as such: "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you" (James 4:8-10). Dear Christian, these words are not evangelistic in their instruction, but they are given so that we might know the means by which every born-again child of God can draw near to Him.

It begins with a cleansing and purifying confession and repentance. "Cleanse your hands... purify your hearts..." Let us take to heart 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We must be cleansed and purified, for no unholy or unclean thing can enter into the presence of the Almighty God.

It continues with an abhorrence of sin. "Be wretched--mourn--weep." When our laughter is turned to mourning and our joy to gloom then we discover that our hearts are right before God. This is not telling us that the morose and joyless believer is the only one allowed near. This instructs us to quit laughing at wickedness and mourn in grief that we still have sin. God, through the prophet Jeremiah, chastised His people with these words from Jeremiah 6:15, "Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush." Do you boast of sins, or do you blush in shame and repentance that you have sins yet lingering? 

All of this leads to the final approach of drawing near--and that is humility. God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble (see 1 Peter 5:5). If you are to draw near to God, you will never do so with arrogance or pride. You must recognize His sovereignty and His dominion over all things--for He created all things, including you. So, beloved, humble yourselves before Him. Isaiah 66:2 states, "All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."

Let us enter this day with the promise fresh in our thinking, that if we draw near to God (according to His truth and not our imagination) then we can place our absolute trust in this--God will also draw near to us.  And that, dear ones, is a tremendous promise!

In His Grace,
​Pastor Michael

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