2 years ago

Day 11- Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Psa 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works.
Psa 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
Psa 145:19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.
Jas 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Drawing near to God is about living in His presence or being before the face of God — which is, by the way, the literal translation of presence. One can be living in the earth without His presence like Cain and others mentioned in the Bible. But what does it mean to live in his presence or draw nigh to God? The presence of God or the nearness of God can be understood in two ways:

(1) Our experience of it; meaning that we taste or feel or realize the reality of God more directly, more authentically, more intimately, more effectively (that is, producing more effects in our lives) more certainly, more satisfyingly, or more terrifyingly, and so on. In other words, His presence, as we experience him, is the heightening of his reality in our lives, either for good, if we are in His grace, or for ill, if we are under his wrath. Which is why Jesus makes all the difference here who has redeemed us thereby we experience the welcoming reality of God’s Presence.
So, for example, we read in Psalm 100:2 “Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” Or James 4:8: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” These are invitations into the fuller, more intense, more certain, more joyful, more satisfying, more transforming experience of the reality of God experienced only though Jesus Christ.

(2) God’s expression of it; refers to God’s manifest influence from His side — not thinking now about our experience of it, but His more manifest influence in all of the universe. Like in Psalm 114:7–8 “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.” In other words, when God manifests himself or His presence in a fresh new way, stunning things happen in the earth — whether anyone experiences them or not.

God is omnipresent, but he makes his influence more manifestly felt and experienced in particular ways and particular times. When it says in Psa 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” That doesn’t mean that God will travel some distance to get to you. No, It means he is near in the sense that he exerts His influence for our good in special ways and causes us to experience the sweetness of His presence in special ways. You can live 24/7 in His presence only through Christ Jesus. It’s your choice!

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