{"id":6185,"date":"2015-02-26T03:18:21","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T03:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6185"},"modified":"2015-02-26T03:33:09","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T03:33:09","slug":"james-48-10-part-2-draw-near-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6185","title":{"rendered":"James 4:8-10, Part 2\u2014Draw near to God"},"content":{"rendered":"

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. <\/em>James 4:8a<\/p>\n

James wrote in verse 7, \u201cSubmit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.\u201d <\/em>He was directing his readers to confront their sinful issues and repent. He followed that with verse 8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”<\/em> In these short verses, James revealed an effective pattern by which they\u2014or anyone else\u2014could turn their lives around.<\/p>\n

Submission to a ruler\u2014then and now\u2014is typically carried out at a distance as an individual learns about and conforms to the decrees and laws of the land. As believers stand their ground in resisting the devil, they demonstrate loyalty to their<\/em> Ruler\u2014God\u2014and choose His<\/em> ways over the ways of their flesh.<\/p>\n

But this Sovereign is neither distant nor holds Himself aloof\u00a0from His people. This Sovereign promised that if His people would draw near to Him, He would draw near to them as well.<\/p>\n

Barricades of varying kinds surround those in leadership at most levels; drawing near to them is a difficult proposition for the majority of us. We understand it\u2014leaders are, after all, people, and they have limitations. They are physically, mentally, and emotionally unable to sit down and converse with everyone who desires an audience with them.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this understood distance between yourself and those in leadership can bleed into your perception of the Father. God is Sovereign above all other sovereigns; because of that, you might suppose if I can\u2019t connect with them<\/strong>, I sure won\u2019t be able to connect with Him<\/strong><\/em>!<\/p>\n

But God is infinite. Not only are His resources and power limitless, but so is His tender loving concern for you. He is a Leader to whom you can draw near\u2014He will never be too busy for you; He will never overlook you in the crowd; He will never glance impatiently at His watch when He sees you approaching. No, this God is a Leader who longs<\/em> to be gracious to you and waits on high to have compassion on you (see Isaiah 30:18). This is the God who will never<\/em> leave or forsake you (see Hebrews 13:5). This God\u2014and His dear Son\u2014will always <\/em>be with you, even to the end of the age (see Matthew 28:20).<\/p>\n

If all of this is true\u2014that the loving God is ever-present\u2014then why must you<\/em> draw near Him? It’s all about relationship. When you fall in love, you hunger to be with that person. You think about little else; you love everything about them\u2014their face, their ways, their name\u2014all of it fascinates you. But over time, the feelings wear down and fascination turns to familiarity. And, if not guarded against, familiarity turns to indifference.<\/p>\n

So it is in your relationship to God\u2014He<\/em> will never grow indifferent, but you<\/em> might. And it’s that indifference that can reap such damaging, disastrous\u2014even deadly\u2014consequences.<\/p>\n

Therefore, James wrote, Draw near to God<\/em>. To draw near\u2014or to come close\u2014necessitates movement. When you draw near to God, you move<\/em> from one place or mindset to another\u2014Him. You stop<\/em> one behavior and begin another. You leave<\/em> one activity and start another. Quite simply, this is what is involved in drawing near to God.<\/p>\n

But what will that look<\/em> like? Your attention will shift; you will turn from your computer, your TV, or your paperwork and talk to God. You will stop\u2014for a time\u2014your housework, your yard work, or your familiar daily routine\u2014and let His Word speak to your heart. You will sing to Him\u2014even if you’re not much of a singer\u2014because you know it ministers to Him.<\/p>\n

And as you do, He will draw near to you. And oh, the secrets that He will tell and the wisdom that He will pour out! This<\/em> is how you will be able to arrest those behaviors of which you’ve become ashamed; in that close place with Him He will make adjustments within you and lead you in new ways of doing things. The greater grace and the power to overcome will be discovered in that close place of intimacy; it is there that He will reveal His heart to you.<\/p>\n

Yes, James was writing to Christians who had yielded to habitual strife and gross carnality, yet his prescription here\u2014Draw near to God and He will draw near to you<\/em>\u2014was written for all<\/em> believers. Wherever you are in your walk with God, He beckons you: Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.<\/em><\/p>\n

He waits.<\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/p>\n

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
\nAnd therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.<\/em>
\nFor the Lord is a God of justice;<\/em>
\nHow blessed are all those who long for Him.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Isaiah 30:18<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8a James wrote in verse 7, \u201cSubmit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.\u201d He was directing his readers to confront their sinful issues and repent. He followed that with verse 8, “Draw near to God and He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-4"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6185"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6195,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6185\/revisions\/6195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}