Come near

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.                          Jas. 4.8

What might God be saying to me in this verse? I think I’m getting a consistent message in this present time and throughout my focus in Him. What’s coming through quite clearly to me is the exhortation to come near to Him and press in to Him, but to prepare myself as best I am able as I come.

I am exhorted to wash my hands and purify my heart. This is reminiscent of the requirements of the priests in the Old Testament. In the liturgy of Psalm 24 it is expressed as:

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false, he will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his saviour. (Ps. 24.4,5)

Again I wrestle with questions such as: How clean am I? What more can I do to prepare myself to “come near to” Him? The answers that come to me are just to be willing, to give myself in surrender and obedience, to confess what I know to confess and to place myself under God’s mercy.

As I do this, let me look for His grace to cover my insufficiency. My relationship with Him is not one of equals. I must allow Him to be who He is. As I do so, the magnitude of His love for me will cover me. It will lift me up and draw me to Him.

O Mighty and Loving God,

I lay before You my sins and stains. Forgive me. Lift me up in You. Let me follow the path that leads me in the way You would have me go. Let us journey together.                     Amen.