Hebrews 4:16

Hebrews 4:16

Approaching the throne of grace

Imagine that we have been invited into the throne room of the Lord God. It’s bad enough having to face up to an earthly ruler, let alone one who occupies the heavens and is the Creator of all things, as well as being our judge! We are not only conscious of our appearance and our manners but are painfully aware that this ruler knows our thoughts, our words and our deeds – intimately. Nothing is hidden from His sight; He knows us better than we know ourselves. So, perhaps we might feel a bit like John when he was ushered into the throne room of God, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead.” (Revelation 1:17.) John found that he was not about to be reprimanded and judged but instead he was granted an audience with the First and the Last, the One who lives forever, who holds the keys of death and Hades!

Our Lord will not reprimand us either, instead He encourages us to draw near to the throne of God’s grace, we need not be hesitant or anxious, God is sympathetic to our cause and will treat us with mercy, kindness and favour. The reason being that Jesus Himself fully understands our weaknesses, and He knows how hard it is to live in the world without falling prey to the Satan’s temptations. Each devilish arrow is carefully and deviously part of a scheme to entrap us and to play on our weaknesses. Jesus was here! He knows what it is like and He knows that we do not have the will or strength to counter every attack. If we did, we would be equal with Him! So, we come to the Lord with confidence, firstly that He knows us and accepts us but also because He has been and done it and He also knows the difficulties of living on planet earth. Does this excuse us when we fail? NO. But it does allow Him to offer us “mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.” God is not a vengeful tyrant; the offering of His Son proves this, and the fact that He is willing to bear with us and to accept us when we approach Him, proves this beyond all doubt. We should not, therefore, hesitate in coming to Him when we have needs. Hallelujah!

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