To Encourage You

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

How close are you to God?  How close do you want to be?  The verse above instructs us of a simple truth – if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. 

So how, exactly, does one do this?  We can’t see God, so how do we know if we’re close to Him?  How do we actually “draw near”? Is it even possible? 

Well, for one, we should ask ourselves what it’s like to be near to God.  The only way we know this is to go to a source that tells us about it – and there is only one such source. It is the Bible.  When we turn to the book of Revelation, we see one description after another of scenes in heaven, including scenes at the very throne of God.  And what do we see?  One of them is worship.  In Revelation 4 we see a scene near the throne of God.  In it we see angels and people in continual worship of God. It says that “day and night they never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’”  And we hear this: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”  That’s what it’s like to be truly near to God, for those who are truly near Him in reality are overwhelmed with His glory and majesty. They are enthralled with Him, and they can’t stop saying so. 

So, does that describe you?  Is this something you think about?  Are you enthralled with His glory – even a little bit? Do you worship Him?  If so, how often and in what ways? For we can be sure if we are very near to Him, worship will proceed from our lips and lives, for there’s no other way that anyone is truly near to Him. 

But then in Revelation 5 we see another scene at the throne of God. Here it is not God the Father Who is being exalted and worshipped, but it is God the Son.  Listen to how this scene is described: “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.” 

Do you hear that? It says every creature in heaven and on earth are worshipping the Lamb that was slain, for surely, they are overwhelmed with the fact that this Lamb of God had been slain for them.  It’s a scene that plays out in Heaven, although it is partly played out on earth.  It’s what the scene looks like to those who are near God’s throne.

So, does this describe us?  Are we near to the throne in that way? Does the worship of Christ fill our hearts? Are we in awe of what He has done for us?  Surely, we will be if we are truly drawing near to God. 

But then we are told what is not there, what is surely vacant anywhere near the throne of God.  Notice the following words from Revelation 21: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”  Obviously, it is these people that are nowhere near the throne of God, for there’s no sin of any kind there. It is such people that can never be near that throne.  Continual, flagrant sin isn’t tolerated there.

So, does this describe our lives? If it does, we can be sure we are not drawing near to God, for such things are diametrically opposed to Him.  But here’s the wonder of it all. The truth is that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Not one of us is worthy to appear before His glory. Not one of us, in our own goodness, can draw near to Him, for as Jesus said, “There is only One Who is good” (and that is God alone) (Matthew 19:16). Yet God has made it possible for us to be cleansed, to be made righteous in His sight, and to be qualified to come near to His very throne.  Listen to these words that speak of this truth: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  What a wonderful truth: washed, sanctified, justified, i.e., made fit to draw near to the very throne of God.  There’s only one way for that to happen, and it is to be washed in the blood of the Lamb. 

So do you want to draw near to God?  There is only One Way, for again, as Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).”  But when He has cleansed us, when He has saved us, we have Him forever as our advocate, in spite of our weaknesses and failings, for we are told these wonderful words in Hebrews 4:14-16: “Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

What a wonderful place this is, near the very throne of God.  But there is only One Way anyone will ever get there, and that is through Jesus, the Lamb of God, the only One Who is qualified and able to “take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).