Draw Near To God - Proximity Matters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcuCq1A9SpE

I want to talk about proximity—because proximity explains so much about the Christian life, and it explains why so many of us feel stuck in the same cycles.

There’s a kind of Christianity that keeps Jesus at a distance. You believe the right things. You show up. You aim your life in the right general direction. You even love Him. But somewhere along the way, you start following Him from the back of the crowd, and you don’t realize what that distance does to your heart.

Distance changes everything. Distance changes what you hear, what you see, what you interpret, what you assume, and what you think God is like. Distance makes God feel quiet. Distance makes sin feel louder. Distance makes shame feel reasonable. Distance makes you feel like you have to figure this whole thing out by yourself.

And what I’ve been learning is that sin isn’t the thing that keeps people from God in the day-to-day experience the way we often talk about it. Eternally, yes—sin separates, and we all know the wages of sin is death, and we all know we need a Savior. But in the present, what I see again and again in Scripture is this: the moment sin enters, shame is what creates the hiding, and hiding is what creates the felt separation.

Go all the way back to the beginning. Genesis says Adam and his wife were naked and felt no shame. That matters. That’s not a random detail. That’s God showing us what humanity looked like when it was whole—open, unafraid, unhidden, with nothing to protect and nothing to prove.

Then the fall happens, and Genesis 3 says they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid among the trees. That phrase always hits me: they heard the sound of God walking. They recognized it. They knew His cadence. They knew what it meant. They knew He had come to be with them.

That means we were designed for intimacy so real that we can recognize Him. We were designed for a walk with God that isn’t theoretical—something experienced, something relational, something close enough that you can tell the difference between His presence and everything else.

And when they hide, God doesn’t disappear. He doesn’t back away. He doesn’t turn around and say, “I can’t be around you now.” He comes to the meeting place anyway. He comes knowing exactly what happened. He comes because His desire to be with them is stronger than their failure.

Then God calls out, “Where are you?” Not because He’s confused. Because He’s pursuing. Because He wants them out of the trees.

I need you to hear this in your spirit: God isn’t scared of your mess. He’s not afraid to be seen with you. He’s not embarrassed of you. He’s not fragile. He doesn’t need you to protect Him from your humanity. He came to walk with people who were broken, defiled, sinful, complicated, and stuck—because He wanted proximity.

When Peter has that moment with Jesus—after the catch of fish—Peter’s response is, “Get away from me, Lord, I’m a sinner.” That’s what shame does. Shame doesn’t just acknowledge wrong; shame tries to create distance. Shame tells you God needs space from you. Shame makes you think holiness begins with hiding.

Proximity says something else. Proximity says, “Get closer.”

I did a simple illustration with a basket and paper balls because I needed us to see it in real time. When you’re far away from the target, you’re going to miss. That’s not shocking. It’s not surprising. It doesn’t even have to be shameful. You can’t miss unless you’re aiming at something, and the aim of our life is the glory of God—Christlikeness, obedience, holiness, love, truth, faithfulness.

So yes, sometimes you miss. Sometimes you miss by a mile. Sometimes you miss in ways that surprise you.

But here’s what I need you to catch: missing doesn’t have to produce shame. Missing can produce wisdom. Missing can produce hunger. Missing can produce a decision.

And the decision is this: get closer.

A lot of people respond to missing by stepping backward. That’s what shame does. Shame says, “You missed, so now you’re unworthy.” Shame says, “You missed, so now you should create distance.” Shame says, “You missed, so now you should try harder from farther away.”

That’s insanity. It’s exhausting. It’s why people get stuck.

If you’re consistently missing, you’re dealing with one of two things: you’re choosing it, or you have a proximity problem. And I’m saying that as your pastor with love in my voice. I’m not looking at people who miss and thinking, “How dare you.” I’m looking at people who miss and thinking, “Get closer. Why are you standing so far back when God is inviting you in?”

Then we did another little moment that mattered. I had someone throw, miss, and then I told him to come to where the ball landed and throw from there. That’s what repentance looks like when shame is gone.

Repentance isn’t groveling from a distance. Repentance is turning back toward God and stepping forward. Repentance is learning how to aim again from the place where you missed. Repentance is staying in the conversation. Repentance is refusing to hide in the trees.

And this is where Scripture gets so clear, so kind, and so powerful.

Hebrews 10 says the Holy Spirit testifies to us about the covenant: God puts His laws in our hearts, writes them on our minds, and remembers our sins no more. That phrase doesn’t mean God has memory loss. It means He refuses to hold your past over your head. It means the account is settled. It means you’re not living under a cloud of spiritual suspicion.

Then Hebrews says something that should change the way you pray: “Since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.”

Confidence. Draw near. Full assurance. Cleansed conscience.

That is proximity language.

And James 4:8 says it plainly: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Some people picture God standing still, arms crossed, waiting to see if you’re going to make it. That’s not the Father we see in Scripture. He draws near too. He runs. He closes gaps. He responds to movement toward Him with movement toward you.

I also want you to remember something we’ve been learning as a church: this walk is personal, and it’s also corporate. Leviticus says, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” That’s not only an individual promise. That’s a community promise.

Your proximity affects the people around you. When you hide, you don’t just suffer alone—you leak distance into relationships. When you draw near, you don’t just get stronger—you become a light to the people next to you.

Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one, and that our oneness would show the world the truth about Him. A church walking closely with God together becomes evidence. People feel it. They may not have vocabulary for it, but they know it’s real.

That’s why shame is so destructive. Shame breaks communion with God, and then it breaks communion with people. Shame makes us suspicious of exposure. Shame makes us defensive. Shame makes us hide behind performance, jokes, busyness, spiritual language, or silence.

Proximity creates a different kind of community. Proximity creates a people who can say, “I missed,” and still stay close. Proximity creates a people who can say, “I need help,” and not feel like they’re getting demoted. Proximity creates a people who confess, get cleansed, and keep walking.

I want to speak directly to the person who feels like they’ve been following Jesus from a distance for a long time. You’re still here. You still believe. You still love Him in whatever way you know how. You’re still aiming, even if you’re tired.

Hear me: you don’t need a new strategy as much as you need closeness.

You don’t need to figure out how to impress God. You don’t need to negotiate your way back. You don’t need to perform your way into tenderness. You don’t need to punish yourself until you feel clean.

You need proximity.

Draw near. Pray like someone who is wanted. Worship like someone who is welcomed. Open your Bible like someone who is invited. Confess like someone who is safe. Step forward like someone who is loved.

And when you miss, refuse the backward step. Refuse the trees. Refuse the hiding. Let your awareness of sin become a reason to get closer instead of farther.

Because the difference isn’t God’s approval. The difference is how you experience the journey. The difference is the strength you carry. The difference is the victory you walk in. The difference is the joy you feel along the way.

God designed you to walk with Him.

He knows what proximity will do to you. He knows the light will purify. He knows intimacy will break strongholds. He knows closeness will heal the fracture places in your soul. He knows the more you keep pace with Him, the more clearly you hear Him.

So I’m asking you, as simply as I know how: get close. Get close enough that missing becomes rare. Get close enough that shame loses its voice. Get close enough that holiness feels like home.

Jesus, thank You that You desire a real, intimate walk with us. Thank You that You give us confidence to draw near. Teach us to step forward. Break shame off of our lives. Restore proximity to Your people. Make us a church that walks with You, and make us a people who know the sound of Your steps. Amen.

These teachings are part of our commitment to help people grow in Christ and walk in freedom, purpose, and power through the Holy Spirit.

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