Approach God in Confidence!
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
Do you ever wonder why weather forecasters deal with percentages? There is a 90 percent chance of snow, rain, sun or clouds. They deal with percentages because weather forecasters cannot be 100 percent certain. Weather can change without any notice. There cannot be 100 percent confidence in knowing the weather because of all the variables that come with it.
The devil would also like us to think of our relationship with God in percentages. He does not want us to be certain and confident of our relationship with God. The easiest way for the devil to get us thinking in percentages is by focusing on ourselves. If we are dependent on ourselves to determine our relationship with God, then we cannot be 100 percent confident. No matter how hard we try to be perfect, sin is right there. Even our best attempts fall short of God’s demands. Therefore, we still question our eternal status. It brings us fear as we think of approaching our Holy God because we have not lived up to his expectations.
But look at the Star! It shines in the east as a beacon of hope! There would be no reason why the wisemen should approach the house where the Lord lived. They were not Israelites. They did not have the Law of Moses to follow. They were Gentiles. But they were able to approach God and with confidence as they lay their treasures at his feet. Their confidence to approach God came not from within themselves but from God himself.
This is the God who took on human flesh to give us confidence to approach the Holy God through his death on the cross. Jesus is the promised Savior for all people! Through Jesus, we can be 100 percent confident in our relationship with God. We can approach him in confidence because Jesus took all our sins away, the very thing that separates us from God. Since our sins have been removed, there is nothing to come between us and God. We can be 100 percent confident in our eternal future in heaven because Jesus has secured it for us. We may not be 100 percent confident of the weather, but we are 100 percent confident to approach our God thanks to Jesus!
Prayer: Jesus, Savior of all people, continue to work powerfully on our hearts and remove any doubts about our relationship with our heavenly Father. Make us confident to approach our God and be confident that we will live with you forever in heaven. In your name we pray! AMEN!