The greatest promises in Scripture are: “If we seek God, we will find Him,” and “If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.” What could possibly be more valuable in life than the nearness of God? Or, as one of my friends used to say, “One moment of the favor of God is worth a lifetime of effort.”

       We are called to both do and become. What we become is more important than what we do because the Lord set a law in creation that all living things “produce after their own kind” (see Genesis 1:12). We can only produce what we are. If drawing closer to Him is in our nature, we will produce this in those we influence. Jesus called this “the best part” when Mary chose Him rather than helping Martha do things for Him.

       Doing things for Him is great, but it is not the highest thing. If we keep the main thing being with Him, we will end up accomplishing much more for Him. To the Lord, labor is cheap. He can get things done with the most insignificant, weak, foolish people, as Paul explained in I Corinthians 1:26-29. In fact, He prefers using such people, so no one may glory in His presence. However, what is most valuable to Him is a great heart. In other words, labor for Him, not for the rewards but because you love Him and because He deserves it.

       As is repeatedly declared in Scripture, we can do many great things for the Lord without Him knowing us (see Matthew 7:22-23). So, people can do great things for Him even while practicing lawlessness, but they will be driven from His presence. Of course, we should want to do great things for Him, but far more important than what we do is what we become, so that what we do comes from a right heart.

       Our basic calling is to become like the Lord and do the works He did. We are called His body because He wants to do through us today what He did when He walked the earth. When God does something through us, it is among the most fulfilling and exciting experiences we can have. It is understandable that many get addicted to His work, but His work must become secondary to getting closer to Him, which is “the best part.”

       One of the biggest traps we can fall into is to esteem to become like Him so much that we try to have perfect motives for everything we do. Don’t seek to be perfected, so you can be used by Him. Instead, know that by being used by Him, you will be perfected. How perfect were His disciples when He sent them to preach His gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons in Luke 10? They were so immature they did not even know how to pray. We know this because in Luke 11, they asked Him to teach them how to pray.

       We don’t have to be perfect to be in His presence. Instead, we become perfected by being in His presence. Likewise, we don’t have to be perfect to be used by Him, or to draw close to Him. The delusion that we must reach a certain level of maturity or holiness to be used by Him or to get close to Him is one of the biggest hindrances to being used by Him or getting close to Him. Perfectionism is the deadly trap of an evil, religious spirit that wants us to base our relationship with God on religious performance rather than His atoning work and a Father-son or Father-daughter relationship. 

       Peter was the disciple that made the most mistakes, was rebuked the most, but was also used the most. Jesus even gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, which he used to open the doors of the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. His faith and initiative to get out of the boat and walk on water during a storm was remarkable, but perhaps even more remarkable was how he did not let his failures stop him. Peter received one of the worst rebukes in Scripture, being called “Satan” by the Son of God, but he did not quit. He denied the Lord three times in one night and still did not quit. That is real faith based on who Jesus is and not on who we are.

       So, let’s use our faith to draw near to the One who wants to be close to us—so much so that He made a way for us to be close to Him. In 2022, let’s make it our first and foremost resolution to get closer to Him and to keep “the best part,” sitting with Him, as the main thing we are called to do.

© 2021 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.