Drawing Near to God

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. – James 4:8a (NRSV)

How to you draw near to God? When was the last time that you tried? Did you discover God drawing near to you? How is your relationship with God? Could it be better? How will you make it better?

Sometime ago someone sent me this.
Listen
When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving me advice, you have not done what I asked.
When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me that I shouldn't feel that way, you are trampling on my feelings.
When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you have failed me, strange as that may seem.
Listen! All that I asked was that you listen--not talk or do--just hear me.
Advice is cheep. Thirty-five cents will get you both Dear Abby and Billy Graham in the same newspaper.
All I can do is do for myself. I am not helpless--maybe discouraged, but not helpless.
When you do something for me that I can and need to do for myself, you contribute to my fear and inadequacy.
So, please listen and just hear me. If you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn--and I'll listen to you.

We know that those who listen to us are truly our friends, because they are not trying to offer us quick fixes, but instead are just trying to be with us when there are no quick fixes. God wants to be a friend, someone we can talk to and be heard, someone who isn’t going to interrupt us or offer us cheep advise before we are done with our stories, someone who holds us when we cry to let us know we are not alone. God wants us to get everything out so we felt heard, and it is then that God will talk to us. And if God is our friend then we will sit back and listen, and who knows what glorious things we will hear!

With hope and joy,
Garrett