I was listening to Michele Cushatt’s new video series that sets-up her soon-to-be-released book, I Am: A 60-Day Journey to Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is, when one of her sentences gripped me:
“When I see the cross, . . . I see a God who wasn’t content with being distant and detached, but a God who loved us enough to come near.” - Michele Cushatt
And then my heart sank with my next thought – and how many people even give a rip?
The lengths our God went to to “come near” were beyond extraordinary – extraordinarily loving and extraordinarily sacrificial. Yet how many people bother to draw near to Him in response? How many people acknowledge the incredible sacrifice He made so we might even have the privilege of nearness and intimacy with God?
I know – life’s busy. It’s too much work. After all, He understands.
So we’re content with distant. And we’ve grown accustomed to detached.
How utterly heartbreaking it must be for God to see His created ones, and even more so His children, fail to see Him for who He is AND for the intimate relationship He so longs to have with us.
The relationship He desires with us is as far in the opposite direction from distant as you can get. We can’t begin fathom it. His love is completely overwhelming and His Spirit all-consuming. The only thing we should feel detached from is darkness and its allies.
Friend, let’s hear and heed His own words to us,
“Be still and know that I am God! (Psalm 46:10).
For in that stillness – where we grow to really know Him (and oh, how God loves revealing Himself!) – our desire to draw near to Him only increases more and more with each glimpse.
And we have this incredible promise from James,
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
Our God relishes those moments when we stop to commune with Him – to be in His word, listen to His heart, share what’s on ours, and bow in humble worship.
And what we reap from that sacrifice of time, attention, and focus is indescribable and invaluable.
Here’s a glimpse into the heart of some psalmists who truly loved to bask in the nearness of God:
“How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. . . . How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. . . .
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (Psalm 84: 1-2, 4; 10-12).
“How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You, To dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple”
(Psalm 65:4).
“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good” (Psalm 73:28a).
God isn’t content with distant and detached, and we shouldn’t be either.
So reject it. Reject the lies that say our glances God’s way are enough or that it doesn’t really matter anyway. <sigh>
Let what Jesus did – from leaving His perfect heaven so he could humbly come to earth as a human baby to His torturous death on the cross just so He could draw us near from now to all eternity – drive us to His feet often. There is so much He longs to do in us and for us in that place.
Reject distance from God. Choose to draw near to Him. And then humbly respond in worship.
Take a minute to make this beautiful song by Meredith Andrews your prayer – Draw Me Nearer.
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