In 1876, a mission worker named Frances J. Crosby was visiting the home of a doctor. While there, she and the doctor began to converse about the nearness of God. Frances, an accomplished composer and poet, penned the words to the famous hymn “I Am Thine, Oh Lord.”

I am Thine, O Lord,

I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith,

And be closer drawn to Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

to the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to Thy precious, bleeding side. 

This should be the cry of our hearts, “Father, draw me near; bring my life to the place where it’s overwhelmed by Your love.” Why is it, for so many of us, we have a hunger to draw near to God, but we just can’t seem to walk with Him? Why does He seem to be far instead of near? Why can’t we seem to get the connection our hearts so desperately long for? Contrary to what we think or feel, God really is near. “Yet you are near LORD; and all your commands are true” (Ps. 119:151). There is only one thing that holds us back, keeping us out of the deepest places of fellowship with God, and that’s our sin nature. It shields us from those desired places of intimacy where we experience His tangible presence and talk with Him face to face. Although overcome at the cross, this one thing places an artificial veil in front of us blocking our ability to have a divine exchange with God. “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Gal. 5:17).

Every struggle to pray, feed on the Word, or engage in worship has its origin in the sinful nature. It’s what limited the impact of Jesus during His years of ministry on the earth and it can limit Him in our lives today. “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mk. 6:5-6). Jesus overcame sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), but we have to choose to remove the veil of the flesh. When we do, it becomes powerless in our lives.

The sinful nature pushes us away from God and blindfolds our minds, making us think He is a great distance away when the truth is He’s within us. To draw near to God, we have to crucify our flesh. In other words, we have to stop thinking in a way that opposes the Word of God. Whether we realize it or not, we don’t act until we think. If our thoughts are full of fleshly driven ideas and suggestions, our actions will line up with our thinking.

Drawing near to God is an art form; it’s like navigating through a land full of sinkholes. The holes represent the mind of the sinful nature that speaks to us while we are endeavoring to engage with God. For example, when we’re ready to feed on the Word of God, the mind of the flesh triggers something in the brain telling it to fall asleep—sinkhole. If we’re able to jump over that hole, then during prayer the flesh will remind us we were supposed to call someone, or take the trash out. If we respond—sinkhole. Every time the voice of the flesh speaks to us, it always draws us away from God, never toward Him. We must resist the voice of the flesh so that we can hear the voice of God.

You and I were created to commune with God. As long as the flesh succeeds in keeping us out of our God-given place of intimacy, we will continually experience feelings of inner emptiness and loneliness. Overcoming the weakness of the flesh helps us grow in our relationship with God. He longs to fellowship with us, so jump over those sinkholes, cast down those thoughts, and take your place before the throne.