How We Draw Near Jesus

When I wrote Filled With His Glory, a book on the Old Testament tabernacle, I repeatedly became confused when I reached a certain point. It was as though I hit a brick wall. I went to the publisher and suggested I do a different book altogether. My new idea was not approved, so I went back to try again. One night, I asked my husband to pray that I could move forward. Almost immediately I realized it was when I was trying to write about the blood of Jesus that the confusion came. Soon after his prayer, I had new ideas of how to proceed.

Satan hates the mere mention of the blood that Jesus shed for us because he knows it gives us access to fellowship with God. God's heart so longs for us to draw near Him that He freely gave His Son's blood to purchase our nearness. We honor the blood and His love by confidently entering His presence with great boldness.

It is because of Jesus' shed blood that we have boldness. But this boldness is not necessarily a conscious feeling of confidence but an inner assurance that our access is a God-given right. A former pastor used to quote these anonymous lines about Martin Luther:

Someone once asked Luther,

"Do you feel that you've been forgiven?"

He answered, "No, but I'm as sure

As there's a God in heaven.

For feelings come and feelings go

And feelings are deceiving.

My warrant is the Word of God

Naught else is worth believing.

Draw near to God and He will near near to you. How do we draw near to Him? Through faith in the blood of Jesus.

"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).