James 4:8 “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
James 4:8 “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Last time I wrote in here I said how I believe God is intimately involved in all our lives, even the lives of unbelievers. I still hold to that. But that is not the same as being in the will of God.
“For though the LORD is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly, But the haughty He knows from afar.” (Psalm 138:6)
There is an obvious separation between a sinful person and his heavenly Father. Despite his loving care, sin is an insidious thing. It drives an immovable wedge between a person and his God. Someone cannot claim to know God, nor receive his guidance, until he repents.
But even for a believer, there is a process required to meeting and knowing the Lord. Beside the basics, of believing in Jesus Christ, repenting of your sins, and accepting him into you heart, there are certain steps we need to take in order to know God, to be close to him.
I don’t know why it’s not easier. I wish I could walk with him as Adam did in the Garden. Perhaps it’s this wicked world I’m in, its loud distractions. Perhaps it’s a testing of my faith. Or maybe God himself choose to distance himself from the world, because of all our sin (Genesis 6:3). All I know is that God is waiting for me to seek him.
But the process is remarkably simple. “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” I don’t need to sacrifice 1000 lambs, burning pounds of incense. There is no secret password I have to learn, or a certain dance I need to do. My prayers are heard by him because I trust in him. He knows my needs before I speak them. If I were to only carve out some time to fellowship with him, study his word, wait for him to speak, he will meet with me and speak to me.
