Troublesome Topic: How Should I Approach God?

One of God’s basic characteristics is that He is great, He has all power, and is beyond the grasp of our understanding. Because He is so great, we must approach Him in the right way.

In ancient times one did not go running up to an authority figure, such as a king, or casually speak to him as if he were an ordinary person. There was a proper way to approach such an authority figure, and if you didn’t do it right, you lost your life. Part of that was the way those authority figures utilized their power; they thrived on showing how powerful they were. God is far, far, far more powerful than the greatest king or general that ever existed. He is not cruel like those ancient kings (and some modern despots), but He does expect us to recognize His authority and approach Him in the way that He has prescribed.

Because God is so great it is impossible to fully understand what He is like, therefore, it is also impossible to know what He expects from us unless He tells us. We can’t just guess and hope to get it right. Fortunately, God does tell us in His word what He expects from us and what it looks like to draw close to Him as He has prescribed.

As stated in an earlier lesson, I believe there are three major categories into which the things God wanted to teach his people fall. God wanted to teach them faith, holiness, and compassion. These three major categories answer the key question: “How should we approach and draw near to an all-powerful, all-knowing God?” Faith and adoration point vertically from us toward God, holiness points inward, toward our internal condition, and compassion points horizontally toward everyone around us.

In the following lessons we will see principles that can be learned from the Former Covenant regarding how He wants us to approach Him. The first set will pertain to faith.

The next lesson in the full series on Covenants is: Tithing Taught Faith and Trust.