Nothing is hidden from Him. He knows those times when we begin to panic. He knows when we become overwhelmed by anxiety. He sees the heaviness and weight we feel when sin enslaves and destroys our freedom. He knows our thoughts, our intention’s, and our motivation.
These verses are not meant to lead to crippling insecurity causing us to run from God and to hide like Adam did. Instead they are a wonderful invitation.
These verses hold out three keys to ensure we run towards Him and not away from in our time of need.
RIGHT THINKING
If your confession is that Jesus loves some future version of me, some impressive, strong, fixed me then you won’t run to Him. You will try and fix yourself. Our confession needs to be we cannot make ourselves right for you God.” Every one of us needs help. We are not God. We have needs. We have weaknesses. We have confusion. We have limitations of all kinds.
Holding fast your confession is saying “We cannot fix ourselves. I am qualified by an act of God Alone. Since He already knows everything, I can stop wearing the mask, stop pretending and come and be real with Him. Grace and mercy grace isn’t taken hold of where we are not real about our needs.
HE UNDERSTANDS
Jesus looks at the guilt, looks at the shame, looks at the distress, looks at the desperation and sympathizes with us. He can sympathize with us because He was really impacted and touched by the reality of temptation. All the temptations that you face and that I face, all of them, every one of them, all of the temptations that hit you and hit me, Christ knew them.
So when His word begins to lead us into deeper rest and joy by exposing where we are weak and we feel the weight and the distress of where we fall short. The writer says run boldly towards Him. He can sympathize, He’s not out of touch with our reality.
Though 100% God He was also 100% man. Take Gethsemane He felt the full weight of the temptation. The temptation to say “Let’s get out of here”, in ten minutes I’m going to be grabbed and then executed tomorrow. Let’s go, let’s go. But He prays, and prays, received grace and was obedient.
Because He knows He can be a merciful and gracious high priest. But not gushy and sentimental. He is the conquering Christ. Jesus knows the battle. He felt the tug, experienced it all, but never sinned, He fought it all the way to the end and he defeated the monster of temptation every time
Now He has passed through the heavens and is seated in the place of ALL authority in the universe says draw near and receive: Grace, help, strength, victory, confidence, I can fortify you, I can help you press through, my grace and mercy will be your adequacy. We grow, mature and develop, as we learn to draw from Him.
We start our Christian life in the Kids pool splashing around in the shallows, and as we lean increasingly into Him we can go into the big pool, maybe jumping off the boards. He celebrates every moment, like a parent celebrates their child’s first step. Knowing this produces confidence, and courage to run towards Him
God says I’ve called you to swim in deeper water there’s life over here if you want it, Approach my power with confidence. Walk right up And get what I’m so ready to give.