D.R.A.W. Nearer to God
As we enter a new year, let’s set a clear goal of knowing God better by drawing nearer to Him. A simple biblical principle to follow is “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8 NKJV).
What does it mean to draw near? I’ll illustrate it this way. By sitting in the back of a room, we miss all the action. However, if we sit in the front row, we won’t miss anything! When it comes to the things of God, we need to be “in the front,” because the further away we are, the more we will miss!
The more intimately we know God—the more time we spend with Him and the nearer we draw to Him on a daily basis—the more involved He will be in our lives. We will “get in on the action” and not miss what God is doing in these last days.
How do we draw near to God? We can find direction in the letters of the word “draw.”
D=Delight
According to Psalm 37:4, we are to delight ourselves in the Lord.
Some Christians continually talk about war, natural disasters, economic conditions, and so forth. In a sense, they are delighting in the problem. But if we are living close to God and delighting in Him, we are confident of His protection amidst the problems of this world.
We delight in the Lord by spending time with Him on a daily basis—by reading the Word and praying, by speaking in tongues and building ourselves up “on our most holy faith” (Jude 20), and by speaking in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19). The nearer we draw to God, the bigger He becomes in our sight. The bigger God becomes to us, the smaller the problems of this world seem.
R=Rely
Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Part of drawing near to God involves relying on Him. Trust Him to take care of you!
Many Christians try to be self-sufficient and figure their way out of problems. For example, if they need finances, they think of people they can borrow money from. Instead of trusting in our strength and wisdom, we should rely on God and trust in Him to solve our problems.
Draw near to God and rely on Him for your strength. Rely on the Spirit of God within you. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us (Rom. 8:11)! He will quicken our mortal bodies, give us wisdom, bring us peace, comfort us in times of trouble, and help us in every situation!
The nearer we draw to God, the bigger He becomes in our sight.Kenneth W. Hagin
A=Achieve
Achieve means “to attain a goal or to succeed.” To become successful in God, we must do more than sit in church after getting saved. We need to go to work doing whatever God leads us to do. As we follow God’s plan for our lives, whatever we put our hands to will prosper (Ps. 1:3).
Remember Jesus’ parable of the talents? Don’t hide your talent— do something with it! Let’s become as qualified as we can and depend on the Holy Spirit for everything else. We can achieve things even when it doesn’t seem as though we should be able to attain them. Philippians 4:13 says that we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us!
W=Wait
Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” We fail to wait on the Lord when we demand that everything happen in our appointed time.
Isaiah 40:31 tells us that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. His timing is perfect. God may not act according to our schedule, but He is always right on time.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will specially minister to you and give you the wisdom, knowledge, and guidance you need to Delight, Rely, Achieve, and Wait. DRAW nearer to God this year!
Author
Kenneth W. Hagin
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