My children burst into my home office a lot.  I’ve talked to them about it on occasion and I’ve asked them to at least knock before exploding on the scene but they tend to forget and they continue to enter my office with all the subtly of a tornado.  Honestly, even though it’s something that we’ve talked about, I just can’t bring myself to ever really enforce any sort of “punishment” for wanting to see me.  The truth is that it’s a wonderful thing that my kids want to see me.  I’d actually be bothered if they weren’t at least tempted to burst into my office.  The great evangelist, D. L. Moody, once said, “Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking.  The way to trouble God is not to come at all.”  I think that’s definitely true.

How then are we supposed to approach God?   How would He like us to enter His office, His throne room?  Should we come groveling?  Should we enter with apologies for the interruption?  Should our hearts be filled with remorse for having to bring a need before Him yet again?  Well, the Bible tells us clearly how we are to approach Him.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.   Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)

Three quick thoughts…

1.  Come Boldly!

We are expressly told to come boldy before God.  Isn’t that amazing?  We are told to come into God’s presence not arrogantly but with bold confidence.  Bolstered by the fact that the One sitting on the throne is “gracious.”  He is filled with grace.  Grace is love in action.  It is unmerited favor.  We can enter the throne room boldly because He loves us boldy.

2.  Receive His Mercy

All through the Bible you’ll see a phrase repeated.  That phrase is “grace and mercy.”  The two go hand in hand.  They are tied together like two sides of a coin but they are different.  If grace is love then mercy is really forgiveness.  Mercy is God’s forgiveness extended to us when we need it and we are told that as we enter His presence we will be met with wave of unmerited love and forgiveness.  Not judgment.  Not some holy disdain but grace and mercy.

3.  Get His Help

Often, when we have a need we are hesitant to bring it before God.  We don’t want to be a bother to Him.  We fear that our needs are a burden and that He must be weary of our neediness.  If it’s something that we’ve had to bring before Him more than once the feeling intensifies.  We becoming increasing afraid that we are His “problem child” and that He must secretly sigh when we enter the room.

All these things are patently false and they stem from a misunderstanding on His character and His power.  There is no problem that you could ever bring before Him that is little more than a trifle for Him to fix.  There is no burden that you could carry to Him that He couldn’t easily lift.  Our God does not get tired.  He does not get weary.  We can’t exhaust Him.  Our needs, while heavy and confusing to us, are light and simple to Him and He commands us to come to Him when we have needs.  He wants to help us.  He loves us and He wants to help us.  He wants to help you.

In the Wizard of Oz, the wizard was little more than a con man behind a curtain.  When his unsuspecting visitors entered his “throne room” the wizard used trickery to try to keep everyone intimidated and at a distance.  He could not allow anyone to get close to him for fear that they would discover his deception.  Our Lord is not that way.  He is the real deal and when we enter His throne room we find our true King seated there filled with grace and He beckons us to come to Him as a child would run to a loving Father.

Run to Him right now.  Receive His grace and mercy and help.  He urges you to come boldy to Him right now.