Oftentimes the cry of the believer’s heart is to be closer to the Lord, to hear Him more clearly, and to follow His Word more consistently. The good thing is that as much as we want to be close, to hear, and to follow Him, our Father in heaven wants these things for us even more than we do.
In fact, God has done everything necessary so that we can come close to Him and rest in His presence. He wants to be close to us, which is why He gave us His Spirit to live inside of us—so we could live with Him minute by minute.
God initiated everything. He took action because of His great desire to forever be with the ones He created. We know He loves us because of what He said and did. He gave the best that He had—His only Son— to have us.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” (John 3:16)
God’s Word clearly speaks of His desire for His creation. In Scripture, we see that the desire we have to walk closely with Him mirrors His desire for us to walk closely with Him:
The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah 31:3)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has . . . predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. (Ephesians 1:3–5)
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am.” (John 17:24)
But God didn’t simply desire to be near us. Our Father made it possible for us to be with Him by giving us His Son.
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. (1 John 4:14)
“I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:18)
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)
The desire we have to engage with God comes from Him, leading us into a place of communion and fellowship with the Trinity. We can respond to Him and engage in a closer walk, constantly aware that the Spirit of God is literally living inside of us.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
“We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:23)
Because we know we are greatly desired and have continuous access to our Creator, we are free to respond confidently to our Father. We can grow in our knowledge of God, His thoughts, His priorities, and His character by purposefully engaging with the Trinity through these responses: expressing gratitude, reading the Word, and living in obedience.
Expressing Gratitude
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (Psalm 100:4)
In the midst of the everyday occurrences of life and the onslaught of negative news, it can sometimes be challenging to find something to cause us to give thanks. But if we turn to the Word, we can find ourselves speaking with the Lord about His truth as He lifts our heads to see from His perspective.
We have a God who is faithful, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love—a Father who delights in showing mercy. This same God who knows all and sees all, humbly came to humanity to show the true nature of God to those in need (Colossians 1:15).
Even when things are not perfect, we can thank God for the big and small blessings in life, such as our family members, health, healing, provision, opportunities, divine insight, favor, and the privilege of seeing another day. The truth is that He is always in control and knows the solution to every problem.
Reading the Word
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)
The Lord’s words, thoughts, and deeds are recorded in the Bible. As we read, we draw closer to the divine author of this book. We gain His perspective, His wisdom, and His knowledge. This helps produce a desire within to live obediently to the Word.
We can see how God has demonstrated His caring nature to the world from the very beginning. We are reminded of His strength as a defender. As a wise teacher, He is patient and kind. As a righteous, ruling judge, He desires to correct all that is wrong. When we read the Word, we hear the Lord speak His heart for our families, His creation, and every part of our lives. We are able to know Him better.
Living in Obedience
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
Part of our response to the One who desires for us to come close to Him is to live obediently, so we do not hide from Him out of shame, as Adam and Eve did.
As we praise Him, thank Him, and read His Word, we are able to gain His perspective on the best way to live. God, who created all things and knows the end from the beginning, wants to share with us His eternal perspective about how we should steward the bodies, minds, time, and relationships He’s given us. We find out that God has a divine and correct way of doing things that is designed to benefit His creation and cause us to prosper (3 John 1:2).
As we become accustomed to seeing clearly, we are empowered to align our wills to His, and to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength—we are even able to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are transformed into the image of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit as we engage with the Trinity. Our relationship with Almighty God is strengthened, and we experience a closeness and level of intimacy that we are designed to enjoy.
