Cindy Powell

Draw near to God
So very, very near
Closer than your next breath
Closer than your next heartbeat
Priceless communion
Holy union
With the One who has already…
Drawn near to you

There is no separation
There is no distance
There is no gap too wide for him to fill

He reached across the chasm
He filled in all the space
His own body a sacred bridge

So draw near to God
So very, very near
Closer than your next breath
Closer than your next heartbeat
Priceless communion
Holy union
With the One who has already…
Drawn near to you

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. He has already closed the gap and filled in all the space between us. That’s why James says “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” There’s such sweet certainty in those words. We can be certain he will always draw near to us when we move toward him–because he never moves.  He never moves away from us. We sometimes disconnect from him, but he never disconnects from us. The minute we choose to return–the minute we choose to draw near–He’s already there.

So next time you’re feeling down, or discouraged, or just plain bummed out by your own lack of diligence or discipline–don’t pull away. Don’t disconnect. Don’t let your feelings of failure or frustration keep you from the fact of his nearness. His arms are open. The One who made a way for us to enter the holy place, has made a way for sustained connection. Jesus called it abiding. He’s already done his part, ours is to simply take him at his word.

Submit yourselves, then, to God:  Submit to the truth of who he says you are, submit to the truth of his love and his nearness, submit to the truth of his faithfulness.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you:  Resist the lie that says intimacy with God is based on your performance; resist the temptation to distance yourself out of shame, resist the idea that somehow it’s all about you.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  (James 4:7-8a)

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Could it be that so many of the things James 4 exhorts us to do–humble ourselves, submit to God, cleanse our hands, purify our hearts, keep ourselves from double-mindedness, etc.–are more about keeping our focus on God and off ourselves (including our own failures), than they are about external behavior modification? Could it be more about us recognizing our need for him, than it is about our need to clean up our act? Just a thought. I’ve heard some pretty harsh teaching come out of this particular chapter, but whenever I read James 4, above all, I hear the hear the heartbeat of good, good Father. I hear his desire to keep us from being drawn away by the many distraction of this age, so we’ll choose instead …

To draw near to him.   

Artwork by Aeron Brown. Spontaneous devotions are just that – a spontaneous collaborative expression of worship. I read scripture and/or some devotional thoughts, then pray into those those thoughts while Aeron draws. For others click here.