Draw Me Nearer
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
You have not experienced love until you’ve known the love of Jesus. Human love pales in comparison to the One who never sleeps nor slumbers. He is not moody but is available to listen any time, day or night. If you can even grasp a little of just how much Yahweh loves you, it should make you want to please Him in everything you do.
I was born in the 1970s, and some of the songs of that era have been running through my head lately. Songs of love for God and for each other. But I also think of songs like:
O the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free
When I think about the deep love of Jesus, I am ready to run into His arms, but then I remember that sin cannot dwell in His presence. What to do! My pride could keep me from Him as I determine to do better so that He will accept me but, alas, no matter what I do, I will never be good enough. The solution then is to humble myself, fall at His feet, confess my sins and my struggles, and turn them over to Him to get rid of for me and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
Oh, the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole
What a relief! I never knew I could experience such joy! Why didn’t I surrender sooner? I can’t think of one good reason.
You see, sometimes life is hard because we make it that way. We “look for love in all the wrong places” as the old song says, when we should be looking to God to fill the voids in our lives. Every once in a while, life gets hectic, and I neglect to spend much time with Him, and I feel the difference. Not always right away but there comes a point when everything is “off,” and I realize I have not stayed as close to the Shepherd as I should have. Thankfully, He is always there to welcome me back. He just wants me to understand that, without Him, my life would be empty. I remember life before really knowing God, and there is no way I desire to return. That’s why I sing:
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
Sony,
As a Certified Lay Speaker in the Methodist Church I am always looking for ideas for “Messages.” What a great idea this is. I could make up a ‘Message, of what you started at from our Hymnals and my 763 Southern Gospel CD’s. You certainly come up with some great ideas. Keep up the good work. God Bless you.
Tom Drake
Lakeport, MI
Thank you, Tom. I really appreciate the encouragement. I wrote this last night when I was tired, so I wasn’t sure it was one of my best writing pieces but I wanted to get it down while the thoughts were coming. I’m so grateful God continues to give me things to share in order to challenge yet encourage His people.