3 Keys to Coming Closer to God:

If there is one thing I have observed about love, it is that it is inviting; love beckons you to come closer and our relationship with God is no different. For some, coming in close proximity to God may seem like a hard, or even impossible, thing to do. But it is possible! Today I want to explore scripture that instructs and admonishes us in regards to our closeness to Christ Jesus. 

I became saved when God made His manifest presence known to me. The manifest presence of God is the “right here” presence. We know God is omniscient, meaning He is everywhere at all times, but God also manifests, or makes appear, His presence. It’s like being in a house with someone, you know they are there but it’s different from being face-to-face or in their actual presence. Being saved and therefore born-again this way is special to me and causes me to know what proximity to God truly is. As a consequence of these experiences I had, and continue to have, I strive to make my life the type of place conducive for Him to manifest Himself anytime. 

“[Therefore beware] brethren, take care, lest there be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to cleave to, trust in, and rely on Him], leading you to turn away and desert or stand aloof from the living God.”

Hebrews 3:12 AMPC

I love this verse, and the entire chapter, because it gives direction and insight on the manner in which we relate to God. This verse diagnoses the reason why believers may not be as close to God or even why they turn away from the faith altogether: a wicked, unbelieving heart. On some level there is a distrust in God. The verse in the AMPC, which I love for revelation and context, goes further into detail on what a wicked heart is; an unbelieving heart that refuses to hold on (cleave) to, trust in and rely on God. The result of not trusting in or relying on God is to leave Him altogether or stand at a distance. 

According to Merriam-Webster, aloof means “removed or distant either physically or emotionally” or “at a distance”.

This is the opposite of proximity or closeness. We can then conclude from this scripture that if our heart is not in the right posture then we cannot truly be close to God. Why is this important, you may ask? Because God wants you to be close to Him! My last blog was about pursuing purpose and I believe this is an important aspect.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

John 17:20-21 ESV

These are the words of Jesus the Christ who expresses the desire and will of the Father who sent Him. Jesus was praying that those who receive the Gospel of Truth might be one (the Body) just as He and the Father are one. As we come together as one united (church) body and form the Body of Christ we are truly one with Him, and therefore the Father as well. This is like the ultimate, overarching purpose of being saved.

Another aspect of coming closer to God is revealed! We have to come close to the point of being one with other believers. This is why I feel church denomination should not be a divisive matter as we are coming together to form one Body in Christ. Not the catholic Body of Christ, the baptist Body of Christ, penecostal, etc. we must hone in on what is of importance. 

“But instead warn (admonish, urge, and encourage) one another every day, as long as it is called Today, that none of you may be hardened [into settled rebellion] by the deceitfulness of sin [by the fraudulence, the stratagem, the trickery which the delusive glamor of his sin may play on him].”

Hebrews 3:13 AMPC

The last thing I want to touch on is settled rebellion. The Word of God says rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23). To be settled in our rebellion is to be fixed, to excuse it or just say “it is what it is”. For me, I tried to settle against my personal conviction of the Holy Spirit in regards to marijuana. I know some believers who smoke claim they have no issues in relation to their closeness to God but that was not the case for me. God literally rejected it for me and told me, straight up, that it didn’t please Him. So hearing that and knowing He said it discontented me enough, eventually, that I had no choice but to choose unity with Christ over my own pleasure.

The scripture explains that we can be settled into this rebellion by the trickery and fraudulence of sin. On some level it is comforting, to me at least, to know that I’m just not this wicked person but that sin is conniving and takes effort to fight. This scripture is literally saying that sin has a strategy against us and our advancement. Our sin is delusive meaning it gives a false or misleading impression that it’s not that bad, or it won’t truly hinder us in any way, whatever the lie your sin is trying to make you believe! I believe this revelation can set us free because it’s not just smoking, drinking, fornicating or whatever your sin of choice is but it’s a pawn in the larger strategy that the enemy has to knock you off your game and out of the perfect Will of God. 

When we are out of the Will of God we don’t have the same authority or protection as we do inside the Will of God. Being outside the Will of God makes us vulnerable. Psalm 91 which is beautiful and speaks of the protection of God begins with “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High” thus we must be in proximity to dwell in His shelter and to be close with God, as we learned today, means to trust in, rely on and cleave to Him.