Drawing near

James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. (King James Bible)

Ps Steffen based his Sunday message on this verse.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Notice how the Bible says first we must draw near to God.
And then God WILL draw near to you.
It is a promise.
He is waiting.
Are we then willing to make that step?
Do we then have that desire?
Are we then prepared to take up the responsibility that comes along with having an intimate relationship with Him?

I have been struggling in this area.
I want so much to be close.
To be able to recognize His voice.
To be able to feel His tangible presence wherever I am.
Each time I tell myself to pray more, read more, study more.
Anything just to know Him more.
And yet, each and every time I fail.
It saddens me so.
I don’t know why it’s so hard.
Doesn’t the bible say “Draw near to Him,…”?
That is what I am trying to achieve!
I can’t seem to get close enough for Him to reach out to me.
It’s so frustrating.

But reading on the 2nd part of the verse, I got my answer.

Reading a commentary on James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw night to you. If we wish God very near to us, we must seek to dwell very near to him. Only sin keeps us afar off.
Cleanse your hands. Of evil doing.
Purify your hearts. Of evil thoughts.

Cleanse and purify.
There are certain aspects in my life that needs to be thrown out.
There are things in my life that I need to stay away from.
There are parts of me that needs to be corrected.

Sin keeps us away.
Uncle Joshua prayed over me.
He prayed that I would have the discernment and strength to stay away from the things I need to stay away from.
I didn’t tell anyone of my struggle.
And yet, God being sovereign sent Uncle Joshua.
To remind me that I am still loved.
To remind me that God is a God of miracles and there will be many things in store for me in 2009.
To remind me that my efforts would not avail to much without the strength of God.

Actually, I can go on and on talking about this.
But I will stop here.
As a reminder of what God wants and His promises, I’ve set my wallpaper to this.

I want to draw near to God.
I want Him to draw near to me.
I want to delight Him.
Cos I know, I can’t do anything without Him.