February 8
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.” James 4:8
We’ve been talking the last few days about drawing near to God, how important it is, how hard it is, and how much confession of sin plays a key role in this. Let’s explore a few other ways that we can draw near to God in our efforts to avoid sin.
In January we covered spending time with the Lord in prayer and study of the scripture. Having daily, regular times with the Lord in this way is very important in our striving against sin. We have to have this as a normal part of our lives. It doesn’t seem to me that any Christian who has not made daily Bible study and prayer a normal part of their lives would have much of a chance of overcoming sin in their lives. We have to have God’s input into our minds, His mind-renewing Word, to keep us pointed in the right direction and keep reminding us of what is good and what is evil. As far as prayer, it is a regular asking and pleading and crying out to Him for deliverance that taps into His power to enable us to overcome.
In addition to these crucial disciplines, many of us draw near to God by praising and thanking Him. Psalm 103 reminds us to “forget none of His benefits.” We are told to pray and take our concerns to the Lord but also with a spirit of thanksgiving; in other words, be mindful of the glass half-empty, and take those concerns to the Lord, but also be mindful of the glass half-full, and remember to thank Him for those things.
Seeking to encourage and minister to others is another, perhaps ‘round about, way we can draw near to God. Whenever I have a chance to minister to or encourage someone, I feel joyful and closer to the Lord. Meeting the needs of others meets the needs of Christ, right? Recall in Matthew 25 how the Lord said, “to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
In summary, conscious, deliberate efforts to draw near to God on a daily, continual basis are essential if we want to live the victorious Christian life. We must work on this to make it a habit and to develop spiritual “muscles” so to speak that reach out to God as a reflex. Just like an athlete must train his or her body to do exactly what is asked of it, so we also must bring out wills, our emotions, our minds, and our bodies into subjection to God and develop these disciplines of drawing near to Him every chance we get. We must replace the allurements of the flesh, the appeal of entertainment, and spiritual apathy with a zeal and desire to know God and be near to Him always. Ask Him to produce this in you and give you this desire. One day we will be sorry for all the time we spent not drawing near to Him.