James 4: 8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”
Bible Verse for Meditation: James 4: 7-10
In this new era of limiting ourselves socially, you may feel as if you are missing out on canceled invites or activities that may have filled your calendar to address your social agenda and depending on whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, you may not be phased by this new normal of solitude or you may have extreme cabin fever, but what I do know that we all have in common is that most of our plans or invitations to events have been interrupted or rescheduled to a later “tentative” date.
This placed a new perspective on what is important and what should be the main focus during this period of isolation. Just the word alone can inflect feelings of loneliness and can even sound depressing, but when reading synonyms for the word in Merriam Webster words like insulation, sequestration and privacy were listed, which is the perfect time to deepen our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Sometimes He may feel far off to us, but what if it is because we were too busy to invite Him in during our quiet time so that He can receive our undivided attention. He graced us with free will in order to decide what is most important in our life and now there is ample time to do just that.
In studying this scripture verse in James 4, the two words “draw near” were repeated twice, both representing action steps; the first one initiated by us and the second one by God. In understanding the context of these two words, one must see them separately and then together. To use the word draw, as a verb means to move towards something continuously and in a biblical context this means we must move continuously toward God. The word near represents closeness and a level of intimacy, which can only be completed in solitude or privacy. When combining the meaning to both words together it reads to move continuously towards God in privacy.
This definition takes on a new meaning for being in isolation during this season and what a perfect opportunity to invite Him into our isolated space for direct uninterrupted time with the One who made us and knows us the most, so much so that He counted every hair on our heads. This directive in this verse is limitless. Once we seek God more, He will be there with us and when He is there then “all things will be added unto us.” Seclusion may in fact be the conduit to open and active communication between us and God, which will activate so much more than we can ever think or imagine. So during this time of solitude, strengthening the relationship with God not only fills the empty space that may have contributed to that feeling of loneliness, but it will provide God the opportunity to not only listen to what you need but to tell you what He has to say concerning His will for your life.