“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded.” (James 4:7, 8)

Have you ever hugged someone who did not hug back? What’s up with that? Awkward. Did you know that our God is not like that! The Bible tells us that we have a God who hugs back! What a great promise, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”! In other words, when we snuggle up to God, He snuggles back. And the nearer we are too Him the clearer we hear His voice and more we experience the peace, joy and eternal love that He intended for us! So what are we waiting for? Why do we stay away or, at least, at arms length? Why do believers hesitate to run full speed into His loving arms?

It could be that many of us still struggle with our “love” for the sinful ways of the world. We are unwilling to “resist the devil” and we shamefully continue to invite sin into our lifestyles. When we do this it clouds our view of God and we keep our distance for fear of His judgement. Instead of humbling ourselves before Him and confessing our sins to our compassionate Father, we stay out of reach and out of touch with Him. We forget that we are told that;

“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide or keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love to those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:8-12)

So, today, instead of shouting a prayer from the back row hoping God doesn’t recognize you…RUN TO HIM! He is waiting with open arms for all who will humble themselves before Him and come near. He knows who you are and He knows your struggle and He loves you. Come. Draw near.

Let us come to His throne with confidence and ask for God to grant revival to each of us as individuals, our churches, our communities and our country.