“Draw Me Nearer”

James 4:8 KJV

[8] “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

     The devil wants us to think that we cannot be close to God. He wants us to believe that it is difficult to have fellowship with Him. The devil is a liar, and we must not listen to his lies. We must trust what God says rather than what Satan tries to put in our minds.

     Here we have a clear invitation to draw closer to God. It is such a privilege to fellowship with our Heavenly Father! The invitation comes with a promise that if we draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh to us. The promise is as wonderful as the invitation itself. What hinders the believer from taking advantage of this invitation? What keeps him from claiming the promise of fellowship? The answer can be one of three things mentioned in our verse. First, it could be dirty hands. Fellowship is broken when a child of God is sinning. You cannot be close to Him and continue doing things that displease Him. Clean your hands of sinful deeds.

     The second hindrance could be a dirty heart. Perhaps you have something in your heart that should not be there. Maybe you have an inward struggle that you have not yet yielded to the Lord. You may have unconfessed sin in your heart, and it’s grieving the Holy Spirit in your life. We purify our hearts by confessing those hidden sins to God. After confessing those sins, take the time to memorize a verse that will replace the sin that was once there. Hide the Word of God in your heart.

     Finally, it could be a double mind. You need to make some decisions and remove the doubt in your life. Quit sitting on the fence. Trust the Lord to help you and allow Him to guide you.