"Draw Near To God"

by Micky Galloway

“Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you” (James 4:7-10).

During this pandemic when we are learning “social distancing” let us remember to supply those things necessary to “draw near to God.”

“Be subject therefore unto God.” James said, “Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Worldliness is defined as, “interest in, concern with, or devotion to things of this world especially as opposed to a future stage of existence (as after death)” (Webster). Worldliness then, is a system of evil in opposition to God and things eternal. We are commanded, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever” (I John 2:15-17). We must, therefore, be subject to God. Deny self and yield to His will (cf. Matthew 16:24). That means to willfully “arrange under, to subordinate; to subject, put in subjection” (Thayer), our will to His. “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens” (II Corinthians 4:18-5:1).

“Resist the devil.” Satan is the ruler of a spiritual dominion. His subjects are those who do his will. His appeal is through the flesh, the outer man. By this means he is able to bring into captivity the inner man, the heart (cf. II Corinthians 10:5; Ephesians 6:10ff). This dominion is called “the world.” Our objective is to overcome the world, but we cannot do that unless we resist him who is the “god of this world” (II Corinthians 4:4), “the prince of the powers of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). Between Christ and Satan there can be no peace or compromise. We either fight in the army of the Lord or we fight against Him and with His enemies. Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth” (Matthew 12:30). There is no middle ground. By resisting the devil, “he will flee from you.” We can make him run away just as Jesus did (Matthew 4:11), but unfortunately, he returns. We are warned, “Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8). As Satan works through the flesh to gain control of the spirit, Christ works on the spirit (heart - inner man) to control the actions of the flesh. This he does by the word of God. The choice is yours (cf. Romans 6:16-18).

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” Very simply, if we wish the favor of God, we must come to Him. We cannot hope for His mercy unless we approach Him and ask Him for it on His terms. This calls for decisive action.

“Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.” Perhaps this is an allusion to Isaiah 1:15-18, “… your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Let your whole conduct be changed. “Purify your hearts” in your obedience to the truth (I Peter 1:22). No longer be wavering, uncertain, and doubting. The Hebrew writer teaches us, “Let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).

“Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.” Prompted by “godly sorrow” (II Corinthians 7:10), cease to do evil, learn to do good. Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Those who are afflicted and wounded that they have offended God, shall find comfort in the gospel. Through the merciful Savior, sins may be forgiven. In Him the weary and heavy ladened soul shall find rest and peace (Matthew 11:28-30). In order to obtain the favor of God, it is necessary to put away our sins and approach Him with a desire to be pure and holy.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.” James 4:6 says, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.” Quite literally therefore, “be ye humbled.” In order to draw near to God, we must make ourselves low, bow ourselves down beneath the hand of God. Be humbled as Moses when God appeared to him in the burning bush. God said to Moses, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:5-6). Moses was overwhelmed with deep reverence and humility to stand in the presence of the Almighty God! Peter admonished, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you” (I Peter 5:6-7).

During this time when we are practicing “social distancing,” let us not allow ourselves to become distant from God. Let us continue to practice those essentials that will help us to “draw near to God.” Remember, if you are not as close to God as you used to be, it was NOT God who moved!