Have you ever asked the Lord to draw you closer to Him? Did your question come from a time of despair, grief, or desperation? Or did your question come from a place of guilt at your own complacency?

We’ve all had times when we wanted to beg someone to hold us close. “Not me,” you may say. “I’m fine on my own.” But it’s not true, friend.

When a baby is just venturing forth on his tentative feet by himself, he becomes part of a complicated dance of balance and motion. He sways this way and that, gains a confidence he didn’t know was there, takes several almost-running steps, and then eventually falls flat. Usually on his face. And what does he do?

He cries for someone to pick him up and hold him close. He buries his face on their shoulder and pours out his woes while the one who loves him croons softly in his ear, telling him it’s going to be okay.

And what about older children? When I was in the fourth grade, I got a horrible hair cut. You know, the kind kids at school tease you about! I won’t show you the haircut…I’ll just say, they called me “Broccoli Head.” I can laugh about it now, but as a child, I was mortified. I was hurt. And all I could think about was going  home and seeing my mom, because I knew she would draw me close and tell me it didn’t matter how my hair looked.

And when we’ve messed up? What do we do? As a senior in high school, I wrecked the back end of my parents’ car. Mom came and got me and did whatever it is adults have to do when their kids wreck their cars. When Dad got home, I could hardly look at him. But like a moth to a flame, what did we do? He drew me close and I cried on his shoulder, because I had made a mistake and I was sorry. And he said it was okay and he hugged me close.

When a baseball team wins the World Series, they all grab each other and hug and get in a big ball on the field. When a beauty queen wins the pageant, the other contestants run and hug her close.

When we are celebrating, when we are scared, when we are too grieved to get out of bed, we want someone to draw us close.

There is One who will draw you near to Him on any occasion. There is One who waits for your prayer…”Draw me nearer, Lord.”

“Hug me, Daddy. Hug me tight.”

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. Matthew 9:20-21

She knew if she could just get closer to Him, close enough to touch, He would heal her. He would help her. He would alleviate her suffering. So she drew near.

When you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.

Come near to God and he will come near to you.  James 4:8

And what will happen when our Father draws us near?

He will heal us, He will help us, He will take our pain on Himself. He will get us out of bed. He will forgive us. He will celebrate with us.

The song says, “Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to Thy precious bleeding side.”

So what happens when He draws us nearer to His side? We get His blood on us. The nearer we get to Him, the more His blood covers us. It covers our sins, our stains, our tears, our ambitions, our gains, our health, our fears, our weaknesses, and even our successes. 

Let “the blood that gives me strength from day to day” NEVER “lose it’s power!” Let me draw closer and closer to the side of Jesus.

“I Am Thine, O Lord” Fanny Crosby, 1875: Public Domain  Arranged by Paige Givens, 2014