Isaiah 48.15,16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
Do you find it as strange as I do that The Lord God has to tell us to draw near to Him? Why wouldn’t we want to draw near to God? For He is glorious in all of His perfection and ways. He is not only our Creator, He is now, through the Person of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. His perfect atonement provides for His people the privilege of fellowship with not only Himself, but The Father and The Spirit of God. A holy mystery indeed! Fallen man, marred by the fall, separated from God by our sin, now, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, can have fellowship.
But the fact that God has to tell me to draw near indicates that my natural propensity is to go my own way. Do your own thing. The result of such behavior is frustration and emptiness. Hence, The Lord says to draw near to Him Who teaches us to profit and leads us in the right ways to go. This profit is far more than wealth and material things. Though The Lord indeed blesses us with all things richly to enjoy, this profit and leading is referring to the leading of The Spirit. As we draw near to Him, and follow His divine leading, we “discover” that abundant life that Jesus promises. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.
