How to Draw Near to God

This morning was so sweet with the Lord. As I drew near to him, he drew near to me. I felt for the first time in a long time, his presence there in my bedroom with me. This is so much more than just a feeling though friends; feelings can be manipulated and false. When we sense God with us, this is something spiritual and deep, not a mere feeling. This is something I have been longing after for so long. As a child I had such a deep connection with the Lord but as I got older that connection faded. I decided around a year ago that I would do everything it takes to restore my relationship with him. I knew that it would take trusting the Lord, discipline and genuine heart to get there. Now, one year later, I can say I am in such a good place with my Lord. Friends, I am sharing this story today because I know how much I longed after it and how much I thought it would never happen to me. If you are in that place today, I want to encourage you that it is so possible to get a deep and rich relationship with the Lord. Whether you have never experienced it, or you want to get back to it, it can happen.

James 4:3-8

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

In the book of James there are some verses that show us the steps we need to take to draw near to God, so that he can draw near to us. It says that the people were asking and not receiving, they were making themselves at home in the world and not focusing on God. They were sinning and living in a way that didn’t please God. In doing this they couldn’t build a relationship with God. Very often our lives reflect this way of living. On the one hand, we desire a close relationship with the Lord but on the other hand we are sinning and displeasing him. In my life, I was in a relationship that wasn’t bringing glory to God. I made the hard decision to leave that relationship and pursue God wholeheartedly. God is a jealous God; he doesn’t want us to put anything before him; he needs our undivided attention (now, this don’t mean relationships are bad, but if they are coming before God, something needs to change).

I recognised one of the reasons I was distant from God was because I had put God second. To rebuild I needed to change and to put him first where he belongs. If you are far from God and want to draw near, take stock of your life. Are you sinning? Are you putting something before God? You need to address those things to begin building your relationship back up with him. This all takes time but is so important. The verses then go on to tell us that we need to be free from sin and to humble ourselves. If we want God to draw near us, we need to be a place that we he wants to come to. We need to stop sinning and we need make ourselves humble to his will and his power. In my relationship ending, a cycle of sin was broken and I was able to humble myself before God and show him that I needed him and that my choice was him.

The next step is to continually draw near to God, it says if we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. When our hearts and minds are fully focused on him and are dedicated to building a deep relationship with him, he rewards us and draws close to us. It takes time; I spent this past year allowing God to heal me from my relationship breakdown, I spent consistent time in his word and in prayer. I have a post about bible study that went up last week, good bible study made a huge difference for my relationship with God. If we only long after him for a few weeks we won’t reap the reward, but when we are consistent and patient, it will come. We often want things quickly and overnight, but God has a different timescale, he rewards patience and dedication.

I urge you, take your sins, your idols, your shame and give it to God. Make that choice every day to live for him and never give up seeking him. God rewards the faithful and obedient. It may take days, weeks or a year like me; but God will draw near to you as you draw near to him. We also may not always be close, we all have seasons when God may take a step back for our growth, but that season of closeness will come again. I was blessed greatly in my season of longing and I know I will equally be blessed in my season of closeness. When I face longing again in the future, I will wait and never stop drawing near to God because it really is, worth the wait.

Faithfully, Becky