Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:8
James presents a promise of God to believers: draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. In light of the issues in the church that James must address, this is not an insignificant promise. Incredibly, this promise still stands for believers today.
What have you done? What are you doing now? Why do you not draw near to God? Sometimes we do not draw near to God because of the shame of what we have done or the fear of how God might react.
God invites you to draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you. Amazingly, He doesn’t stand coldly while you approach, nor does He run or walk away. He draws near.
The second half of James 4:8 reminds us that this drawing to the Lord is not on our terms but His. We must come repentant.* The resisting of the devil in the preceding verse corresponds to this drawing to God.* Resisting the enemy includes moving toward God.*
Still, though God is drawing near, what will He do when we meet? Should we expect punishment? Should we expect harsh words or rejection?
As we draw near to God with repentant hearts, we see from the context of this verse that He draws near to us with forgiveness of sin, restoration of joy, and He provides us with strength to live in purity and righteousness.* In these great gifts, we see the grace of God on display.*
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to draw near to Him. Perhaps God wants you to know that you do not need to bring your confession to Him in fear of punishment but in confidence that He has good for you. Maybe today God wants to give you forgiveness, joy, or strength as you repent.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, pp. 194–195). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 256). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 4:7–10). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 243–244). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (p. 229). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, p. 153). Word, Incorporated.