A Well Worn Path
What does it mean to draw near to God?
Verse of the Day
“let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
Today’s Devotional
There are 3 parts of today’s verse on which I’d like to focus: drawing near, sincere heart, and full assurance of faith. But we are going to take those in backwards order. All three are important components for developing our everyday faith.
Before we do that, let’s look at the “sprinkling” of our hearts and the cleansing of our conscience. There is some debate here, in which I will not participate. I will merely give my opinion. I believe the “bodies washed with pure water” refers to our prior water baptism. Baptism is an outward sign of inner acceptance of the finished work of Jesus. Baptism does not save me. Jesus saves me, and my being baptized is a public proclamation of my acceptance of what Jesus did on my behalf. But this act, that I took many years ago, is still producing results today that allow me to draw near to God because I am cleansed by Jesus every day. The sprinkling of our hearts to cleanse us of a guilty conscience reminds me of a couple of different things. First, there is the sprinkling of blood from the old covenant to make someone who was unclean clean. The altar was sprinkled with blood as well. I’m also reminded of Jesus’s words when He was washing the disciples feet. Jesus said to Peter, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean”. If I am a saved believer, and I find myself in sin, I do not need to be baptized again. I need to confess, repent, and change my behavior. That may be what this “sprinkling” is referring to. The major overhaul of repentance, salvation, and change is done. But the stuff that crops up along the way must be dealt with if I am to continue to draw near to God.
Now onto the “full assurance that faith brings”. I can look back over my life and see very clear evidence of when God showed up. This builds my faith, and gives me assurance that God will continue to show up. This is why God always reminded the Israelites of the Exodus story. We must remember the past because it builds our faith today. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (11:6). Faith is both God’s gift and our responsibility. Faith rests on the promises of God. We are saved through faith (Eph. 2:8) and we are to walk by faith (Col. 2:6). Our faith is not a mindless, blind leap in the dark. Faith rests upon the Person and work of Jesus Christ, which the author of Hebrews has been expounding on from the start. The better we know Him as revealed in His Word, the more we will trust Him. The more we trust Him in the difficult matters of our lives, the more He proves His faithfulness and we can trust Him the next time.
Do you feel like you have a sincere heart? I’m not sure how to answer that question. I have always been told that I am very authentic and vulnerable. But there are also parts of my heart and soul that only God sees. Am I willing to admit to God when I am struggling with my humanity, or do I make excuses? It could be said that a sincere heart is one without divided loyalties. But I think, given my sinful nature, that my heart will always be somewhat divided in its desires. When I step back from my sinful nature, which tends to rear its head in the heat of certain moments, my heart really does sincerely want God. The fruit of a sincere heart is seeking God in the midst of our humanness, and a consistent willingness to be convicted when we are wrong.
Last for today is “to draw near”. I love the image that I read on the bible.com commentary. “Drawing near is really the same thing as “seeking” the Lord. The Hebrew word translated “seek” means literally, “to trample under foot.” The idea was that if you frequently sought your neighbor, you would trample under foot a path to his house. There ought to be a well-worn path between you and God because you go to Him so often. What a great privilege this invitation is, to draw near to the living God! But it won’t happen if you don’t make it a priority to spend time alone with Him.” I love the thought of there being a well-worn path from me to God. My guess is that is one of the few things that he really does want from us. Because the more I go to Him, the more like Him I will become.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How can you sprinkle your heart today to be cleansed of any guilt?
What evidence do you have in your life that gives you assurance in your faith today?
How can you develop more sincerity of heart?
Is the path between you and God a well-worn path?
What can you do today to draw near to God?