“Draw near to God.” It is so simple yet so deeply counter-intuitive for us. We have a tremendous opportunity to walk closely with God every day. God wants us to draw near; to know his presence and to live by his Spirit and in his strength. He doesn’t just want us to know about him. He wants us to experience him with more immediacy than we experience the physical world around us. He wants to be present within us. But there is something in us that resists the Holy Spirit. It is something that, if we are to really know God, we must overcome. On the one hand we get so used to living independently of God and so attached to our autonomy that we become control freaks. We are, therefore, irrevocably disinclined to relinquish the right to rule our lives. We cannot let go. On the other hand, we struggle to believe that the way is really open to us. Our sense of failure makes us ‘God-shy’ and we tend to cower in dark places feeling that we are unacceptable to God. These issues paralyse us spiritually. They keep us at a distance from God. But God wants to change this. He wants to break this paralysis and inspire in you a childlike faith. He wants to convince you, if you are willing to be convinced, that the way is wide open and that you may come boldly and unreservedly to him. Are you willing to be convinced? So come to God with the bit of faith you have and let him grow that into a childlike boldness.
Ask God to take hold of you by his Spirit and fill your heart with his assurance.
Read Hebrews 10:19-25
