Draw Near – Paul Nordman

Stay Safe; Stay Put

In last week’s post [How God Draws Us Near], we saw that, despite our natural resistance, God goes to great lengths to draw us to Himself. Surely, He is the initiating God, as hymnist Robert Robinson wrote so wonderfully in his classic hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”¹

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

We have an eternity to thank Him; it begins afresh at every waking moment.

Yet, we know from experience that spiritual battle rages in and around us, and that our adversary tempts us in many ways to stray from the God who draws us. To the Corinthians, Paul distressed, “I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”² What does this “cunning” deception look like? Political leaders can misguide us, like king Manasseh when he “led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the [opposing] nations.”³ Jeremiah lamented rogue religious “shepherds” who can lead us into lostness, as well.⁴ Religious syncretism—the blending of diverse belief systems or practices—is a powerful draw, so much so that “even Barnabas was led astray by [the] hypocrisy”⁵ of influencers attempting to blend grace and legalism. Godless wisdom and knowledge can lead us astray,⁶ of course, as can our own “passions and pleasures.”⁷

Then where is the grace in all of this? Where is our hope when Satan would lead us astray from where God has drawn us? First, God’s Word shows us what to expect: “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”⁸ Temptations will happen, but as we’ve seen, the Word exposes them in their various forms, so we need not be blindsided. Second, we know our flesh for what it is—vulnerable, gullible, and spiritually weak—which is to say we do not fight “the serpent” in our own wisdom or strength. Instead in Christ himself, we “stand against the devil’s schemes,”⁹ for He who draws us is mighty. Then what happens when we resist the adversary who would lead us astray? “He will flee from you.”¹⁰ Ironic, isn’t it?

We pray …
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.¹¹

¹ Robinson, Robert. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Public Domain. http://hymnbook.igracemusic.com/hymns/come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing (accessed June 11, 2023).
² 2 Corinthians 11:3
³ 2 Chronicles 33:9
⁴ Jeremiah 50:6
⁵ Galatians 2:13
⁶ Isaiah 47:10
⁷ Titus 3:30
⁸ 1 Peter 4:12
⁹ Ephesians 6:11
¹⁰ James 4:7
¹¹ Robinson, Robert. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

Are you familiar with “lead indicators” and “lag indicators”? The latter display the results of our efforts; they are the scoreboard to which we look to see if we’re winning or losing. Report cards and sales figures, for instance, post current results of activities past. Lead indicators, on the other hand, measure the efforts that produce results. Hours devoted to study portend our final grades, and the number of cold calls impacts future sales. Pay attention to lead indicators, and the score will largely take care of itself.

Occasionally, people ponder this life lag indicator: “Is my spiritual life better than it was a year ago?” After all, growth is good, right? Yet this worthy aspiration brings with it the temptation to look to the do’s and don’ts of spiritual infancy as relevant indicators of spiritual maturity. When early Christians so regressed, Paul chided them, “Why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?¹ When others similarly stumbled, the apostle appealed incredulously, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”² This is not to say there is no right or wrong or bad or good—there certainly is—but the Law of Moses never could change our hearts, nor can we look to this external code as a scoreboard of spiritual growth. Our inner progress is actually the Spirit’s success, for it is He who transforms us over time. He pours Himself into us, evidenced by the character that flows out from us—“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” taught Paul, adding, “Against such things there is no law.”³

Then what is our role regarding fruitful growth? Two words come to mind: Draw near. We read in Hebrews, “Let us draw near to God, with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,”⁴ confident in what Jesus has done for us on the cross. “Come near to God and he will come near to you,”⁵ echoes James. It is relationship God desires from us—closeness and trust, unity and rest. It means learning about God’s love in His word, stepping into His love through trust, and opening up to Him in submissive, honest and relational prayer. Draw near to God; the scoreboard will take care of itself. He’ll see to it.

Father, your proactive love for me is beyond imagination. Strengthen and lead me into intimate time with you today. Give me discernment to know your voice, believe your truth, and grow up in your love. Amen.

¹ Colossians 2:22
² Galatians 3:3
³ Galatians 5:22, 23
⁴ Hebrews 10:22
⁵ James 4:8