How to Come to the Person in Every Season
The Shift: From Performance to Presence
Whoever you look up to, you naturally begin to imitate.
When I was nine years old, my birth dad was given court orders restraining him from seeing his seven kids until we turned eighteen. When I finally saw him at eighteen, it was anticlimactic. At least the first conversation was.
But it was a start.
As we began talking more, I noticed something surprising. A lot of my mannerisms reflected his.
When I was a boy, my mom and dad were my heroes. What they said mattered. What they modeled shaped me. Their example in private and in public became my instinct.
We become like what we behold.
But it was not until I came to Christ that imitation became transformation. Before Christ, I could copy behavior. After Christ, I was given new life.
Now I did not just have Someone I read about. I did not just have Someone my parents told me about. I had the Holy Spirit living in me.
That changes everything.
He is Here!
For every season, Christian, this is your reminder: you are not trying to reach God from a distance. If you belong to Christ, He has already come near.
In Deuteronomy 23, Moses instructs Israel to keep the camp clean. No uncleanness. No hidden evil. Why? Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp.
Under the Mosaic covenant, God’s dwelling among His people was tied to covenant faithfulness. The law exposed impurity and demanded holiness because He is holy.
But move forward.
Paul tells believers in 1 Corinthians that we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. God is not merely walking through a camp. He dwells within His people.
This is not because we finally cleaned ourselves up.
This is grace.
Christ fulfilled the law we could not keep. He bore our uncleanness. Through faith alone in Him, we are brought near. The Spirit is given, not earned.
Now obedience flows from belonging.
Now holiness flows from indwelling.
How to Come to the Person in Every Season
So how do you come to the Person in every season?
Here are tools for your tool belt.
Come tired.
Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden.” You do not come polished. You come weary. Name your burden. Bring it to Him honestly.
Come thirsty.
If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Identify what you have been using to satisfy your soul. Comfort? Control? Approval? Then say plainly, “Jesus, be my water.”
Come empty-handed.
The tax collector did not perform. He cried for mercy. Drop spiritual performance. Come with confession.
Come confessing.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive. Confession is not punishment. It is returning to light.
Come believing.
Jesus said whoever comes to Him He will never cast out. Take Him at His word. Believe the promise, not your mood.
Come abiding.
Abide in Me, and you will bear fruit. This is not about intensity. It is about constancy. Read a paragraph. Pray one honest sentence. Obey one clear step.
Come boldly.
Because of His blood, we draw near with confidence. Not arrogance. Not fear. Sonship.
For every season, Christian.
In suffering, come tired.
In temptation, come confessing.
In dryness, come thirsty.
In success, come empty-handed.
In leadership, come abiding.
The presence of God is secured in Christ. He does not leave when you stumble. But because He dwells within you, cleanse what grieves Him. Not to earn Him. But because you belong to Him.
Transformation is no longer imitation from a distance.
It is formation from within.
Never Finished Challenge
Abide. Receive. Obey.
Abide
Spend time with Him in the Word daily, even if it’s just two minutes. Consistency over intensity.
Receive
Let the Word reveal who He is and what He desires. Don’t force it to say what you want. Receive what it says.
Obey
Take one clear truth and apply it today. Obedience is not earning His love. It is responding to it.
What Does Today Say About God?
Nothing.
No, I mean nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When I feel far, He is near.
When I am hungry, He fills.
When I am anxious, He sustains.
Not because I performed well.
Not because I held it together.
But because Christ has held me.
What a Father.
What a Friend.
What a King.
Thank You, Jesus.