“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” – James 4:8
Draw nigh. Herein is an open promise that extends to all peoples. Sinner or Saint. Black or White. Rich or Poor. Young or Old. Male or Female. Draw nigh. The call to draw nigh is a call to seek the Lord. This charge, promise, and invitation is given and echoed throughout scripture. “Seek me”, says the Word of God. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 it says: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” The Psalmist writes in Psalms 61: “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;” Jeremiah prophesies in chapter 29 verse 13: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Countless other places both in the Old and New Testament God calls for us to seek, search, and draw nigh to Him. Draw nigh unto Him and he will draw nigh unto you. What a wonderful promise; and how it has helped me through the years. In plentiful times and in lean times, there has always been this guiding promise. Draw nigh. If it seems God is far off, then it is in your perfect right to draw nigh. Trusting that he will draw nigh to you. How wonderful a promise this is, just draw nigh; he will help you to close the gap. The Lord is not as far as the devil would make him seem, but even so, we still have this promise that he will draw nigh to us. That he will help to make up the ground if we resolve to seek him. As a parent would a lost child. There is no mountain, hill, valley, ocean, or desert that they would not cross to find that precious child. No chasm they would not leap or sacrifice they would not make to seek and find them. In this we have confidence, not in ourselves, but in the promise that we can draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
How might we draw nigh to him? Well, how did Jesus? Did he not spend hours alone in prayer with God? Attend church “as was his custom.” Meditate on scripture; help the sick, broken, and needy? We draw nigh to God through the means laid out in scripture and by the unction of the Holy Spirit. He directs you and guides you. Hence, the need to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. The glass must be clean before it can render a reflection. So must we be if we are to “look into the perfect law of liberty and continue therein.” But if you are willing, no matter the distance, or the complexity of your situation. No matter how depraved or unworthy you may feel. It can be said to you dear reader through holy commandment: draw nigh.
