“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]. 

As I sat and listened to the message that was being delivered one faithful Sunday morning, the minister said those words. Read it straight out of the bible. Words I had heard many times before, but for some reason this time, it hit me square in the heart. I mean, I have read this scripture verse many times. I have thought about this scripture verse many times. But today, that faithful Sunday, those words were said as though they were being spoken directly to me. I wrote it down and pondered on it all day. Then I went to bed. 

The following day, those words, that scripture verse, is what I woke up to; the verse I was directed to during my devotion. I, therefore, began to ask myself; 

“Do I approach God’s throne with confidence?” 

“Do I approach God’s throne as one who knows their rightful place?”

Or do I approach as one who is still hoping and looking to be accepted? 

Do I cower and often approach as one who is unworthy?

Do I approach the throne of my father, as a child who understands her position in Him, or do I, like the prodigal son, try to relate to God as a hired servant?

The truth is, with God, I have already been chosen. I have already been deemed worthy. I have already been placed in right standing with God through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, and His blood which was shed on the cross. I believed in my heart and confessed with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and still do till this day. I surrendered my life for Him to lead in every area. I have been grafted, fully adopted, rightfully positioned into the family of God through Christ Jesus. I am loved, accepted, and chosen – even before I sought acceptance, love, or belonging. However, I don’t often act like it. I don’t often approach in confidence. I don’t often act as though I am the daughter of my Father – as though I am beloved by Him. 

Some of my favorite passages to remind me of how much worth God has placed on me are;

John 3:16-18[NLT] – “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”

Romans 8:15 – 17[NLT]: “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory…”

Galatians 2:20 [NKJV]: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Ephesians 1:4[NIV] reminds us that “He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless in His sight, in love.” 

God did not wait for me to want to be chosen before He chose me. He first chose me, then allowed me to decide if I wanted to choose Him too. I chose Him. With my heart and my mind, I chose Him. Why then wouldn’t I approach the throne of my Creator, my Father, my Friend with confidence?

“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book, they all were written, the days fashioned for me when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:16 – NLT). 

God knew you before He laid the foundation of the world. He chose you even before Christ died on the cross. He accepted you before you were even formed. So, I know that lacking confidence in His presence, or being anxious about anything does me no good in any way. I had been robbing myself of the fullness of my experience and existence in Christ, by choosing to approach timidly. By choosing to approach as one who had no right being before Him. 

Instead, I must always remember that in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, I am to approach His throne in confidence and make my request known to God. Philippians 4:6. I must always remember that I am now called His child, not an outcast. I must always remember that more than I want to approach Him, He wants me to come to Him. And the only way to truly experience the presence of my Father, the presence of my God, is only when I approach with confidence and assurance of who I am in Him and who I am to Him. “Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence” [Ephesians 3:12]

References

Scazzero, Peter. 2014. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It’s Impossible to be Spiritually Mature while remaining Emotionally Immature. Zondervan. Grand Rapids; Michigan.