Draw Near to God and He Will Always Stand Strong For You
Through The Difficult Impasses of Life, Call On The Lord And He Will Be There To Turn It All Around!
By Dr. Lindy Diffenbaugh
Draw Near to God and He Will Always Be There For You
When a person who is born again by the Spirit of God, who is a highly skilled warrior in prayer, and one who has knowledge of the word of God, without doubt he will certainly a tremendous advantage over the “Nominal Christian”. In fact, the nominal Christian, may not go to Church every Sunday, and they may not go to the Wednesday night service.
With those who manage their Christian responsibilities in this manner, it is obvious that regular Church attendance is not their “cup of tea”, so to speak. We must be vigilant in our own lives, not to turn in to such lukewarm followers of Christ, that most likely will certainly not have walked a walk, that would not allow them receive anything from God.
That last thought may sound a bit harsh to you; in fact, you may ask, “Why would God not bless those just as He blesses the Skilled Warriors?” The first scripture that comes to mind is, “Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you,” James 4:8-NKJV.
I cannot think of anything in life that is better than knowing God and making Him known to those who know not God, nor the things that He has, can, and will do for the lives of so many “would be saints” that are now broken and dying people, that do not know where to turn for the grace, help, and goodness that they so desperately need.
Beyond the “broken and dying people that live life without God, if you have any thoughts that, in spite your lack of commitment to your Faithful Creator, that He will and/or must come to you to see what you are up to, or to see how your life is progressing, then let me reiterate my view on the subject, with the same scripture that I just quoted, what God expects from you is that, “If You Draw Near to Me, I Will Draw Near to You.”
He never gave us the option to go about our lives any way that we saw fit, but we could surely call Him when things got tough for us. Our God is not an insurance policy, He is your faithful Creator, the author and finisher of your faith, the lover of our soul. and so much more. Without Him working with us and for us, we would have already been consumed by Death, Hell, and Darkness.
The Privileges of Knowing Him, Walking With Him, and Following Him
Knowing and walking with Almighty God is an unspeakable privilege of Great Magnitude. He is very selective with whom He walks. You may ask, “How does He decide those that He will walk with?” I cannot speak for God on how He makes His decision, but as a parent I know who will get my attention.
I will always favor the child that obeys the house and behavioral rules with the utmost diligence. I tend to give them more privileges and the most attention. I suspect that God, as a parent of many generations, operates a similar fashion. With God and with a gracious parent, the compliant child will always win out, over the one that wants more than he gives. This, of course applies to good parental practices, just as it applies to our Faithful Creator.
I believe that it is possible to give your life to God, whether you work in a secular position in the workplace, or whether you are a stay-at-home parent. The issue is not really the many tasks that are before you; however, I do understand that after a long day of serving people in a work place where you are consumed with the demands of your job, it very often feels like enough expended energy for one day; however, when you come home and you are no doubt thrilled to see and interact with kids and hear then share how their day has gone.
You may be exhausted and totally burned out from the demands of your workplace, but when you see your children, your love for them will usually overtake the burden of the weight that you encountered in the workplace!
In fact, as I remember it, getting home and talking with the kids, was always the highlight of my day. It was also relaxing and comforting to interact with my husband and kids over dinner after a long and taxing workday. Even though you may just be too stinking tired from your workload that day, to serve the family that delicious dinner that they truly desire; nevertheless your love for them is strong, and the family will be fed.
I have been there and done all of that. It was never easy, but it was usually relaxing and rewarding after the dinner was served and the kids were washing those dirty dishes for their tired and exhausted parents!
The Best Time of My Day Was My Time With God
The best part of my day occurred after the dinner was over and the dishes were done. It was even after the kids were entertained, bathed, and put to bed. So, just what was so special about that time? Glad You Asked!
It was during that time that I would lay across my bed, or walk around my room, and pray and talk to God. These were the sweetest times of my day. There is something beautiful and so very powerful about seclusion in a quiet place and space where you can be alone with God.
In fact, there were also times after the kids were in bed, that I would expand my time of intercession. In fact, I often prayed and interacted with God in the bathtub and when I did, I would always come out of the prayer encounter, clean inside and out!
Prayer is Joy, Built on Discipline
I must add that just like learning to play an instrument, or learning to swim, prayer is a discipline. It is a commitment you make to God, that in sickness or in health, for better or worse, I am yours. As I walk with you, I will give you my all. As I go through my daily routine, I want to go through it with YOU!
Surely there are things in your life that you feel you can do all by yourself. You do not need God to wash or feed the kids, wash the dishes, and clean the house. Whether you feel that you “Need HIM” or not, the grace of His presence is always there to bless you. We do not know when and where we will run into trouble and end up calling out, “God Help Me Now!!!”
I will tell you from personal experience, that it is better to have your “Friend,” close by, than it is to spend the first 20-minutes with Him explaining why you have not been in touch for the past few days, or the past few years, or even decades.
If that sounds like something you might have to do, then be assured, that God always honors repentance. I don’t think this is written in scripture anywhere, but always know that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to explain why you have been ignoring Him all these weeks, months, years, etc.
You may come back with, “God knows why I did not spend time with Him, why do I have to explain myself to Him.” I am sure that there are many reasons, the first being, if you do not lay your failure before Him, then you have not truly repented, you will be vulnerable to falling back into your old habits. Even, after you talked to Him, and you felt like everything is cool, then it is time for you to turn the corner, and include Him in your every day life, morning, noon, and night.
At one point in my life, when my kids were little, I would lock myself in the bathroom, take a nice long, warm bath, and I would pray during that entire time. I forbade my kids to interrupt me unless somebody was breaking into the house or one of the kids were hurt. I can truly say that those were always times of refreshing.
We Must Hold Fast to the Knowledge That God is Truly Our Faithful Heavenly Father
To me the Strongest Biblical Words, that reflect the Father Heart of our Faithful Creator, are found in the Book of Isaiah chapter 43. As we read that chapter, we will come upon the words that reflect the Heart of God Himself.
Our magnificent Father God promises every believer and saint of God, that when you “When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned up, when you walk through the flames will not consume you, Isaiah 43:12-NLT.” Some would say “That sounds like a fairy tale. It is certainly not a reality on the planet earth.”
Let me emphasize one more time that Our God IS An Exceptional Father! It is imperative that we see that. If we know and have a deep and enduring relationship with Him, when we run headlong into disaster, and our entire life seems to be shattered in pieces we must know that He is there for us.
It is in those times that we will surely realize that we are not alone in the trials and battles that we face. In fact, if we have been faithful to know God and we have honored Him in all that we do, then we can know for certain, that when the battle is strong, God is surely there fighting for us and with us.
When we feel like we are drowning in our own day to day lives, the river is much too deep and the way before us is much too wide for us to come through this situation unscathed; it is in these times we must always know that God is with us and we must never doubt that God is fighting for us. You can and will come through this thing unscathed because He always makes a way for His own, when there seems to be no way!.
Never forget that He will never leave you or forsake you. In those moments, when you are facing what seems like total and absolute destruction, you must know that HE is with you. He always makes a way when there seems to be no way, and when you are doubting your own ability to survive.
HE is with you, and He is making straight paths for you to walk on. He is with you, HE is in you, HE is for you, He is behind you, He is in front of you , all at the same time. He knows your hurts and your pain. He has healed your yesterdays, and as you walk with Him, He is creating a way for you that you never thought was possible.
HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH And He Needs YOU to Be Strong in the Lord and the Might of His Power!
In those moments, when you face that insurmountable wall, or the impassible river, then you must allow every bit of faith that you can muster up, to rise-up in you and take over through you. While you are exerting your faith, God is surely fighting the battle with you and for you.
Despite everything that I have just suggested that God would do for you, you must never take faith for granted. Do not misunderstand that statement, “God will always have his eye on you, because HE loves you.” In fact, if you chose a distant relationship with God, He will not draw near to you, until you understand that while He loves you, and He also holds your next breath in His hand.
Remember that If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you…when things are fine, as well as when your heart is broken, and you need His great grace in your life. If you have a relationship with Him, He will meet you where you are. I know that I am talking to many who have found that when you walked through the deep waters that could have brought you to utter destruction, it was then that you called on HIM and HE was there for you.
Always Ruminate on the Truth of the Word of God
As a Christian, you must always be ruminating on the truth of the word of God. Why? Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. In other words, your faith rests on your diligence and ability to know God’s Word and in those strategic moments, when hell comes to shake up your world and entice you to step out on the wrong track, it is then that God will be there contending for your victory.
He will fight your battles with you, and He will make a straight path to the perfect plan that He has prepared for you. It is in those times that God will come through for you. He will fight the battle for you. When He is with you, when He is fighting for you, then you will emerge from what appeared to be certain defeat, as an absolute and total victor. Your opponent will wonder what hit him, and he will think twice before bringing another attack on your life.
In fact, bring it He will. When He returns, He will have a plan that is bigger and better than the last one. That is why you and I must continually strengthen ourselves in the Word of God and in Spiritual Warfare. During those times you must draw close to God and allow Him to draw close to us.
You must always know that under the shadow of His wings you are safe, and hell cannot touch you. You must learn to know and wield the weapons of your Spiritual warfare. You must learn to trust them and to wield them.
You must remember the promises of the Word of God. He is always with you. He will not leave you, nor will he forsake you. Always know that whatever trap that you fall into He is with you. He always makes a way of escape for his faithful servants. He is with you always, even to the last breath that you will ever take.
I Close With This One Admonition, After the Lord Blesses You, Saves Your From Certain Destruction,
