God Has Longings~

Good morning J

Today we switch gears and go back to a topic I promised we would discuss: Being bold before God.

Hebrews 4:16

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

That verse reminds me of a cartoon drawing I once saw. It was entirely in black and white and a clearly terrified man is before the huge, imposing throne of God shaking in his shoes and freaking out. God is sitting there—this enormous faceless presence pointing a finger the size of the Washington Monument. Not very welcoming at all, and totally contrary to the verse above.

I don’t know too many folks who would go boldly into an unwelcoming place. They may go because they are courageous, but then that implies there is something to be afraid about, or at the very least that caution is in order.

No courage needed to pray. No caution necessary. And please, no hesitation. Plus, no meekness, no hanging down your head down low, and no stuttering!

Can we all agree that in order for our walk with Christ to be vibrant we must take a leap of faith and believe His Word? And in order to believe It and Him, we have to know what It says. Every thing—and I do mean every thing—in my life is filtered through the Word. It’s comforting and effective. As such, no matter how hard others may try to paint a picture of a mean, indifferent God Who is detached and uncaring, I know different. And even in the moments when I might doubt, the Word reminds me that I am to be bold when approaching God because He welcomes me with open arms.

When my finite brain tries to picture an infinite God I think about my nephew, Danny. He is three years old and a tornado. Whenever he sees me, he runs to me, calling me Auntie, and hugs me and slobbers all over me, and I love it. Not that many folks get excited to see me anymore. Yet our gracious God feels this way about every single one of us.

Isaiah 30:18 “The Lord longs to be gracious to you…”

This means He wants to show us kindness, compassion and mercy. Do you need one or all three? The only precursor to receiving this is that we have to GO TO the throne. It all begins with prayer. And our posture should be one of boldness, which means “without hesitation.” When we don’t hesitate, when we are excited to pray, to approach God, it’s because we finally start to understand that He is thrilled to see us. He is gracious—not mean, vengeful, or dangerous. HE IS GRACIOUS. Full of grace, full of love, full of compassion, full of wisdom—full of whatever we need for our lives right now.

How might accepting this truth change the way we approach our Lord?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We boldly come to you right now knowing that You long to be kind and compassionate to us right now. We need it, so fill us up right now. In Jesus’ name, Amen~