FROM: Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
ABOUT ME: Living the highs and lows of life in the adventurous pursuit of God Himself and of who I'm meant to be as the Bride of Christ.
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Monday, February 15, 2010,6:51 p.m.
DRAWING NEAR
I've been thinking about this concept in scripture that says, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." That particular version of it is taken right from James 4:8a.
I like this idea. I'm often poor at the execution of it. Oh, not necessarily the execution of "draw near" but perhaps the execution of just draw near. As opposed to "put on my best smile and make sure I smell nice before I draw near" or "wait until I feel like being in the presence of God or like worshipping before I draw near." Oddly, it's not what the scripture says.
In fact, there are other places in the scripture where this "draw near" idea is stated. For example:
"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith...." (Hebrews 10:22a)
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart.... That struck me when I was reading that recently. A sincere heart. Yes, a sincere heart is a heart that is truly seeking Him and not just seeking His hand or testing Him. But also, I think, a sincere heart is a heart that is truthful about what it is feeling or experiencing at this moment in life. A heart that does not pause to "dress up" and ensure that we are presenting something that - at least in our own limited understanding - is acceptable.
That is a freeing thought to me. It is freeing to me as I worship. It is freeing as I consider that when my heart is broken or weary, I can simply draw near to God just as I am. The picture that comes to mind is one of walking into the throne room of God simply to walk over and sit down on the floor beside the throne and rest my head on His knee. Just being with Him, regardless of my own state. Sometimes it means being able to just sit in the pew when the worship music is going on and knowing that though I'm wrestling things that make it too difficult to dance or sing or even stand as I am used to doing when I worship through music, I can just sit in my seat and still draw near. Draw near with no words. Draw near with no musical offering, with no words or without even any mental offering. But just to draw near. Sincerely. Honestly.
I am learning that to draw near even when you are offering nothing is still to draw near. And He will respond by drawing near as well. If I wait until I am ready to draw near there are days when I never will. If I understand that to draw near is not conditional but is a 'being' rather than just a 'bringing', I will draw near more often and probably when it's even more important to be near.
And the days when it's more important that I'm near God are the times when it's even more important that I know that He's near me. Thankfully, He is always true to His word. He will draw near to me, too.
I like this idea. I'm often poor at the execution of it. Oh, not necessarily the execution of "draw near" but perhaps the execution of just draw near. As opposed to "put on my best smile and make sure I smell nice before I draw near" or "wait until I feel like being in the presence of God or like worshipping before I draw near." Oddly, it's not what the scripture says.
In fact, there are other places in the scripture where this "draw near" idea is stated. For example:
"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith...." (Hebrews 10:22a)
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart.... That struck me when I was reading that recently. A sincere heart. Yes, a sincere heart is a heart that is truly seeking Him and not just seeking His hand or testing Him. But also, I think, a sincere heart is a heart that is truthful about what it is feeling or experiencing at this moment in life. A heart that does not pause to "dress up" and ensure that we are presenting something that - at least in our own limited understanding - is acceptable.
That is a freeing thought to me. It is freeing to me as I worship. It is freeing as I consider that when my heart is broken or weary, I can simply draw near to God just as I am. The picture that comes to mind is one of walking into the throne room of God simply to walk over and sit down on the floor beside the throne and rest my head on His knee. Just being with Him, regardless of my own state. Sometimes it means being able to just sit in the pew when the worship music is going on and knowing that though I'm wrestling things that make it too difficult to dance or sing or even stand as I am used to doing when I worship through music, I can just sit in my seat and still draw near. Draw near with no words. Draw near with no musical offering, with no words or without even any mental offering. But just to draw near. Sincerely. Honestly.
I am learning that to draw near even when you are offering nothing is still to draw near. And He will respond by drawing near as well. If I wait until I am ready to draw near there are days when I never will. If I understand that to draw near is not conditional but is a 'being' rather than just a 'bringing', I will draw near more often and probably when it's even more important to be near.
And the days when it's more important that I'm near God are the times when it's even more important that I know that He's near me. Thankfully, He is always true to His word. He will draw near to me, too.
