Draw Me Near

"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV)

When my children were young, I would spend time before they would go to sleep singing and praying with them. They each had a song which was their own, and I would use what power I had (which was precious little!) to sing these songs to them before they would close their eyes. My daughter's song was "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Now you have to understand my daughter to understand what I am going to tell you next. We always said that she was born with a pencil in her hand. She began writing and drawing at a very early age. She has always been able to draw anything just by looking at it. When she was little, she thought that the "therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee" meant that God was drawing her image with a pencil! Well, that is true to a certain extent because He does draw (creates) us in His image and I could definitely imagine Him sketching us out with this nose, and that color eyes, and this kind of hair (hers is very curly!) before we were even conceived. When I finally realized that she thought God was "drawing" her (and I don't remember how we discovered this fact. I really wish I could!), we had a conversation about how He draws His children toward Himself, as if He were pulling them up into His arms, holding them close with their heads against His chest (at least that is how I imagine it). I've never known whether changing her perception of "her" song was a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose I may never know...

God draws us near but we also need to draw near to Him as it says in these verses:

"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:7-8a (NASB)

"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works." Psalm 73:28 (KJV)

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16 (NASB)

"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." Hebrews 11:16 (ESV)

Our faith must be active. We need to be actively pursuing the Lord or we will find ourselves far away from Him. As Francis Chan said, "If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream. When we stop swimming, or actively following Him, we automatically begin to be swept downstream." Keep following Him. Keep pursuing Jesus and lift up His name and proclaim it to everyone! Jesus said,
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." John 12:32 (NASB)

Dear Lord, Draw me near to you. Draw me with your amazing creation which shouts of Your creativity. Draw me with Your still, small voice. Draw me with Your everlasting love and lovingkindness. Help me draw near to You and lift You up from the earth, to proclaim Your love, and to be a part of You drawing all men to Yourself.