I find wonderful promises in the Bible about approaching God. But the condition of my heart often obscures the view. James wrote about this problem:

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

I embrace the first line—come near to God and he will come near to you—without considering the requisite accounting of my attitudes and actions. Drawing near to God involves a serious look at my sin. Not merely a nod, but fully facing both my active rebellion and passive resistance to his ways.

The Lord is never far from any of us, but only the humble experience his presence. When I lasso my straying heart, humble myself and ask for forgiveness, then I create conditions conducive for the Lord to draw near.

James 4 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Amin Hamid