In our last lesson, referring to the second step to getting God's grace in our lives, we focused on resisting the devil. Resisting the devil will wear you out spiritually and leave you feeling completely drained at times. What do you feel like doing after resisting the devil? I don't know about you, but I feel like crawling up on God's lap and resting for a while! Which leads me to focusing on the next step we will be looking at today in light of James 4:8…
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.
What does it mean to draw nigh to God? To the best of my knowledge, there are no flights leaving the Nashville airport for Heaven, so how am I going to draw nigh to the Lord? I can think of no better way to draw close to my heavenly Father other than through prayer and fellowship with Him...
Psalm 73: 28 (KJV)
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the
Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.
There are three parts to the above verse; did you notice the phrase sandwiched between the colon and the comma? “I have put my trust in the Lord God”. Could it be that drawing nigh to God is an indication that we are putting our trust in Him? Let me ask you this question: How often do you lean toward the Lord when you are trusting in yourself? Not very often, I'll wager! Why would you need to lean on God when you are busy leaning on your own understanding??
Proverbs 3:5 (KJV)
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Ladies, it is especially important to draw nigh unto God before AND after battling our adversary! Beforehand it brings us wisdom and strength for the fight, and afterward it brings encouragement and restoration to our soul. Truth be told, there probably isn’t a soldier in Iraq today that wouldn’t welcome an opportunity to return home to loved ones to recuperate from the battles they are facing overseas!
1 Samuel 14:36 (KJV)
And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil
them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And
they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest,
Let us draw near hither to God.
Why does the Bible tell us to draw nigh to God? What really awaits us when we get nearer to Him?
There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God.
There is a place of comfort sweet, near to the heart of God.
A place where we our Savior meet, near to the heart of God.
There is a place of full release, near to the heart of God.
A place where all is joy and peace, near to the heart of God.
O, Jesus blessed Redeemer, sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee, near to the heart of God!
Ladies, GRACE is found in the presence of God!! Hence, we draw nigh to Him because we finally see our need for His grace. Have you come to that place in your life yet, dear lady? Have you humbly realized that you can't face this world’s struggles on your own? Are you ready to crawl up into God’s lap and put your trust in the Lord? He is always ready to aid the lowly in heart…
Psalm 34:18 (KJV)
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such
as be of a contrite spirit.
Ladies, the grace of God will correct and cure our spirits; and where God gives grace, He gives another spirit than that of the world - the same spirit of His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased! The nearer we are to God, the more we are like God. Nearness is likeness. If you aren’t like your heavenly Father, chances are you are not very near to the Lord. The proud resist God, they won't draw nigh to Him. By their own prideful opinion they resist the truths of God; in their stubborn will they resist the laws of God; in their selfish passions they resist the providence of God. No wonder God resists them, no wonder He won't draw nigh to them! He can't - until they humble themselves and come to Him wholeheartedly...
Matthew 15:8 (KJV)
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with
their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Those who avoid the Lord are in a wretched state. May we all draw near, and keep near, to our God, by faith and prayer, and find it an excellent thing to always do so! Then it is the Lord will draw nigh to us… You see ladies, God never forces Himself upon us; He lovingly waits for us to cast all our cares upon Him in total dependency and complete trust.
How near would you say you are today to the heart of God? Have you been drawing nigh to Him, or avoiding the Lord altogether? Have you been feeling all alone, maybe even accused God of deserting you because times have been tough as of late? Ladies, don't let the darkness drive you away from God, let it bring you nearer to Him as it did with Moses. He has not left you; the Lord is still close by!
Ex. 20:21-22 (KJV)
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness
where God was. And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto
the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from
heaven.
Many Christians have mistakenly placed all their expectations upon God to maintain an intimate relationship with them - without realizing the responsibility to stay close to Him is ours alone! Ladies, we must actively pursue a closer relationship with our heavenly Father by drawing nigh to Him consistently…
Psalm 16:8 (KJV)
I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved.
The Bible says that WE are to draw nigh to HIM, WE are to set HIM always before us. It’s a very simple command yet surprisingly difficult for believers to follow! According to scripture,
God is to be as close as our right hand! How can we possibly expect the Lord to give us His grace - and even more grace - to endure hard times when we don't even bring ourselves near to Him on a daily basis through prayer and the reading of His Word?? We selfishly want all the benefits of a close relationship with the Lord yet none of the responsibility!! I am glad that the Bible reminds us to go first! It’s awful to think that believers should even need to be told to draw nigh to such a loving God who gave His life a ransom for us…
Ephes. 2:13 (KJV)
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by
the blood of Christ.
What benefits have you seen in trusting God? How about your salvation for starters! Ladies, the Lord has done everything He can to make it possible for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. What have you done to develop and maintain that intimacy? How does knowing that if you draw nigh to God He will draw nigh to you encourage you to pray and read your Bible more faithfully? I hope it does - it ought to! Whoever calls upon God with a sincere and upright heart, to that person God is nigh. Do you see the promise of the attentiveness of God in drawing close to Him? He'll stay and listen and deal well with you…
Psalm 145:18 (KJV)
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon
him in truth.
At times we may get frustrated or hurt when we try to intimately talk to our husbands or someone we're very close to about something very near and dear to us, something of great importance that is heavy on our hearts. When they don't give us their undivided attention, their full concern, it is disheartening, amen? Maybe even a close sister in the Lord has let you down in this area of your life. Not so with the Lord! God will never let you down; He will give His full attention to your concerns - and He'll fill you with His grace...
Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such
things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee.
What a blessing this is, for we have been given a place to safely pour out our soul's heartaches and burdens and be heard and helped! What a wonderful support to our souls, amen? But what a waste it is when we don't realize the benefits with which God has provided us in drawing nigh to Him!
In closing, what behavior or attitude does this passage teach us to avoid? We should always avoid avoiding God! We can only hurt ourselves when we shun the Lord! Run to Him, draw nigh to Him and then stay near to Him. It's where you'll find His grace to help in time of need!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
