Draw Near to God

James 4:8 (LEB*)
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded!

If I draw near to God, he will draw near to me. How impossible is that? All I must do to feel the close companionship of the creator of the universe is seek refuge in him.

This is pretty far from how I was raised. I know my parents wanted us kids to grow up Christians, but that meant that most of the time they took us to church and let them teach us.

The problem with this isn’t necessarily that we were taught wrong (though in some things I think we were). The problem is that as Christians we’re to view God as our Father in heaven, which means that our view of him as Father is filtered through the lens of how we see our human fathers.

Now I don’t want to speak ill of my dad. He tried his best, and I know that he needs grace and forgiveness as much as I do, which is a lot. What I do want to say is that God is patient and gentle and kind. He is absolutely wise, and he disciplines his children so that, “it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who are trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11).

My dad wasn’t always so excellent about the patience and gentleness. I grew up scared of my dad so that to this day in my late twenties, thinking of God as a Father who wants to be near to me and sees me in light of his perfect Son and not as a collection of sins and failures, is very difficult for me to grasp.

But there it is.

Jeremiah 29:13
13 When you search for me, then you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart.

It’s really all over the place.

Psalm 145:18
18 Yahweh is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

Hebrews 10:19–22
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence for the entrance into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in the full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Psalm 73:28
28 But as for me, the approach to God is for my good.
I have set the Lord Yahweh as my refuge,
in order to tell all your works.

Psalm 119:151
151 You are near, O Yahweh,
and all your commands are truth.

Psalm 145:18
18 Yahweh is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 16:8
8 I have set Yahweh before me always.
Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken.

1 Peter 5:6–7
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the right time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because ⌊he cares⌋ for you.

God isn’t a dad who only tells you what you need to do better. He is not a reflection of a father on earth, but the perfect embodiment of the idea of Father.

As I reflect on this truth, I can’t help but be thankful that I have this access to God. In my current state I tend to feel lost, and without the knowledge that God cares for me, I could only feel that there is no hope for me. But God has promised not to leave me in my wretched state. And all I must do is seek him.

Matthew 6:31–34
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?,’ 32 for the pagans seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So what I’ve found is not (yet) what I and God know that I need, but a growing sense of peace because I know that he cares for me. What a blessing.

*All scripture taken from Lexham English Bible