In a world that’s so far away from God, it’s good for a Christian to draw nearer to God. He is, among many things, our source of strength to overcome trials and our comfort in times of distress. Asaph wrote long ago, “it is good for me to draw near to God; ​​I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, ​​That I may declare all Your works” (Psalm 73:28).  What will it take for us as individuals to draw nearer to God?

The Lord Jesus, in His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well said: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23). This is a beautiful picture that Christ painted with His words. He explained to us that when a person is seeking after God, God is at the same time seeking after them. A Christian ought to do everything in his power to maintain that zealous attitude he had before becoming a follower of Christ, and retain the enthusiasm he had in his early days of being a babe in Christ and new to the faith. The apostle Peter wrote, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,” (1 Peter 2:2).

Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus, is a prime example of one who separated himself farther away from God instead of drawing nearer to Him. Judas had great beginnings. He was one of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus who was given “power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease” (Matt. 10:1; ref. Matt 10:2-4; Luke 6:12-15). When reading about Judas throughout the pages of the New Testament, we learn that he was a thief who used to take what was put into a money box (John 12:6), and the one who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:14-16). He then hung himself after he saw that Jesus had been condemned (Matt. 27:3-10). This should serve as a great warning that though we may start off great, we can have a most grievous fall. Therefore, we ought to strive to draw nearer to our God.

Simon Peter, the fisherman from Bethsaida (John 1:44), is a great reminder that the life of a disciple of Christ can be filled with highs and lows. Towards the end of Matthew’s Gospel account, we have recorded for us a conversation that Jesus had with His disciples, in which He says, “‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ​‘​I will strike the Shepherd, ​​And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!’ And so said all the disciples” (Matt. 26:31-35). As we continue to read we learn that Peter would follow Jesus at a distance (Matt. 26:58), deny Him three times, and then weep bitterly because he did so (Matt. 26:69-75). However, the story doesn’t stop there. Peter is given another chance by the Lord during which he reaffirms his love for the Lord three times, showing him drawing nearer to Jesus once again. Afterwards he goes on to preach the first gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost, which results in three-thousand souls obeying the gospel message! Let us do all that we can to never wander away from our Lord as Peter did, but if we ever do, let us reaffirm our love to Him as Peter did.

James, the half brother of Jesus wrote to the brethren saying: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:7, 8 KJV). In this passage of Scripture we have precious promises which clearly illustrate the close relationship a child of God can have with their heavenly Father if they’ll not give into temptation. Is there any area in our life that we’re letting the devil dominate us in? It may be the case that we’ve put up a good fight in this area, but after falling numerous times and getting back up we’ve now decided to stay down after our most recent knockout. Brother or sister, I encourage you to get back up so that you can fight the good fight again! Solomon wrote, “…​For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again…” (Prov. 24:16). The apostle Peter said, “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter. 5:9). Here we learn it’s not only us; the brotherhood that’s around the world is having to resist him too. Therefore the more fighters we have resisting against this ferocious foe, the better!

In the Book of Beginnings we read of Joseph, “who was sold for a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him. The king sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions, To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom” (Ps. 105:17-22). When looking at Joseph’s life we see one who was separated from his family on account of his envious brothers, who was sold to be an Egyptian slave, and then cast into prison because of a false accusation. However, through all of his trials the LORD was with him (Gen. 39:2, 3, 21, 23). To the outside observer it may have looked as if Joseph had done wrong to be going through what he was, as Job’s miserable comforters did (Job 16:2), but this was far from the truth. Joseph’s relationship to God was one that showed great dependence on the Almighty to get him through these extreme difficulties. Joseph was one who drew near to God, and we would do well to follow after his example.

We’ve looked at a wide range of individuals, from those who completely separated themselves from God, to those who stayed close to Him no matter how difficult the situation they were facing was. Let us strive to imitate the latter, so that we can truthfully sing these words: “Father of mercies, day by day my love for Thee grows more and more…” (Faber, “Father of Mercies”).