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Why Not Draw Near? :: Deeper Devotion
Why Not Draw Near?
By Glenn Ansley
Luke 5:1
Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around [Jesus] and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.
God desires for us to seek after Him like we would search for a lost treasure (Matthew 13:44). He expects us to press around Jesus with as much passion as the crowd demonstrated in Luke 5:1. Jesus was walking with human beings, something that God had not done since Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden. God changed the path of humanity when He offered the crowds a chance to press around Jesus by that lake. He still offers the same opportunity to you.
We are invited to draw near to God for mercy, grace, and the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 7:25-27), but we turn from Him in our guilt. He stands as a strong tower in our day of trouble, shaken by nothing and willing to protect us (Proverbs 18:10), but we run to Him only after exhausting all other solutions. God’s foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of men (1 Corinthians 1:25). He offers it without fault to those who draw near to Him (James 1:5), but we would rather ask our lucky stars, buy magazines, and seek fallen humanity for wisdom than to come boldly before our God. Jesus has defeated Satan and sin through His death on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:56-57). Those who draw near to God are promised deliverance from our tempter (James 4:7-8), and yet, we hold fast to the sins that so easily entangle us.
To not press around Jesus as the crowds in Mark 5:1 did is to show our lack of faith in God’s power, provision and plan of salvation. To hold such an undeserved gift with such a low esteem is sinful. It cheats God of the glory He deserves and it cheats us of the abundant life Jesus purchased for us with His death.
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