LORD, DRAW ME NEARER

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while HE IS NEAR” – Isaiah 55:6

My entire lifespan cannot exhaust the hunger and longing to have the LORD, DRAW ME NEARER: “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while HEAR IS NEAR” (Isa.55:6). Meditating on the Promise of God’s Nearness, two inspired hymns often come to mind: “I am Thine, O Lord” and “Nearer, My God, to Thee!” The first hymn was composed by Fanny Crosby, who because of a medical error to her eyes in childhood, bore the cross of physical blindness for nine decades plus her earthly existence. Yet, she became the best she could be in God. She wrote close to 8000 hymns, many of which have touched and blessed the hearts of countless people. Her cross did not crush her spirit. She prayed these living words:

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told Thy love to me; but I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee.

Refrain: Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died; draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord, by the pow’r of grace divine; let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in Thine. [Refrain]

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour that before Thy throne I spend, when I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God I commune as friend with friend! [Refrain]

There are depths of love that I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea; there are heights of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with Thee. [Refrain]

As God draws me nearer, I become NEARER MY GOD! Sarah Fuller Flower Adams hoped to become an actress. But, being born in poor health, she had to abandon her lofty plans. Instead, she devoted her life to Bible study and writing. While studying Scripture in 1840, she was stirred by Jacob’s story and dream about a ladder that reached Heaven. Overwhelmed with a desire to draw closer to God, she wrote a poem called “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” She wanted all of her waking thoughts to be bright with the praise of God. She longed to be engulfed in God’s Nearness and spend eternity with Him!

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me, still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. [Refrain] Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, darkness be over me, my rest a stone. Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God to Thee. [Refrain]

There let the way appear, steps unto heav'n; all that Thou sendest me, in mercy given; angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. [Refrain]

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise, out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise; so by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. [Refrain]

Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky, sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I'll fly, still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. [Refrain]

There in my Father's home, safe and at rest, there in my Savior's love, perfectly blest; age after age to be, nearer my God to Thee. [Refrain]

Our Heavenly Father invites us: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live” (Isa.55:1-3). He longs to fill us with the Water of Life and feed us with the Bread of Life. But, we must quit trying to hide our fears, weaknesses or worries from Him. In His presence, we exchange fear with faith; weakness, and worries with His Strength! In seeking the Lord and His Grace, we share with Him our deepest desires and direst needs. He shares His higher thoughts and ways with us (Isa.55: 8-9). He draws us nearer and nearer in His endless love! This is my deepest desire. What is yours?