Approaching God Boldly

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV

I wonder how many of us truly approach God with the boldness and confidence this verse in Hebrews exhorts us to do. Or are we possibly—for a variety of reasons—hesitant or even fearful of approaching him at times?

One summer years ago God blessed me in my own backyard with a vivid picture of a bold approach. Since I’d made an effort to make my backyard bird-friendly, it wasn’t unusual for me to witness the sight pictured above as well as others from nature that held lessons for life in general.

I’d decided to spoil my little feathered friends with a few special treats when they visited the yard in the early evenings. I stood near the feeder and tossed out pieces of fruit I didn’t want, like over-ripe strawberries, grapes that had started to shrivel, and blueberries that had gotten too mushy. I actually started to look for any imperfection in my fruit so that I might give it to the birds.

It didn’t take long for my daily visitors to discover my new habit. A couple of robins and northern mockingbirds took special interest. The robins even got a little territorial about the whole thing.

Before long these regular visitors started coming near me. They got bold in their approach. Even though I was much bigger than them—a giant in comparison—they still approached. Their desire for sweet nourishment overshadowed their fear of me. Or perhaps they began to trust me after seeing that I was there only to feed them.

In my little interactions with these neighborhood birds, I saw how we should feel free to approach God. Even though he is the God of the very universe and seems huge to us, we can draw close without fear. He longs to bless us.

Have we reached a point where our desire to fellowship with God and draw nourishment and strength from him is greater than any fear or hesitancy in approaching him? If not, let’s remember the verse above from Hebrews and be encouraged to approach our heavenly Father with confidence. I bet he’s just looking for reasons to bless us.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8 NIV

*What do you need to approach the Father about today?

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*For info about my books Christmas for the Heart: 25 Devotions Reclaiming the Beauty and Wonder of the Season and Mother of the Bride  check out my Books/My Work page.

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