Encouraging Word
“You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.” Deuteronomy 13:4
In this scripture verse, we find specific instructions on how to stay close to God. Six steps are mentioned that will enhance your relationship with Him.
- Follow. You begin by following God. To follow means to move behind in the same direction; to acknowledge the authority of; to conform. Jesus’ invitation to His disciples included the words, “follow Me.”
- Fear. Next, we are told to fear God. Fear here refers to having a holy reverence; awesome respect; to hold in high esteem; to worship. We need to get back to a “righteous fear” of God!
- Obey. A holy fear is followed by obedience. Obey means to follow instructions; adhere to; to put into practice; to be submissive. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
- Listen. To be close to God, you must listen to His voice. Listen is to give attention; to focus; to concentrate. We need to make sure we are listening to God and not the world, the Devil or self. The Bible says, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Serve. Closeness to God requires a servant’s heart. We are told to serve Him. To serve is to make yourself available; to give allegiance; to address the needs of others. Matthew 6:24 says we can’t serve two masters. Like Joshua, we need to decide that we will serve the Lord (Joshua 22:5).
- Cling. The last instruction given is to cling to God. Cling is to adhere closely; cleave; grasp; hold tight; remain attached. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you . . .”
If we follow these instructions, we will remain close to God and our relationship will be strengthened.
-Tony Cooper
Celebrating 27 Years of Service as Exec. Director, Jimmie Hale Mission
