A beautiful hymn we sometimes sing is “Nearer, My God, to Thee. It was written by Sarah Flower Adams in 1840 eight years before she died at the young age of 43. Her inspiration for the hymn was Genesis 28:12 and Jacob’s ladder that reached to heaven. It is said that the band aboard the Titanic valiantly played this hymn as the great ship descended to its watery grave.

This spiritual hymn sets forth the feeling that should be shared by all who love God and have dreams of heaven, and that should be all who claim to be Christians. Though, as the songs says, we must bear crosses in this life, still we can sing of being nearer to God because Jesus died on a cross for us. The very thought of being nearer to God everyday should help us make it through the difficult times of life. And that there will be difficult times is certain, for even God, through His Word, prepares us for that.

Job 14:1 (ESV)
¹ “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.”

Acts 14:21-22 (ESV)
²¹ When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Yes, there is much tribulation in this life, but heaven will be better. In heaven we will be nearer to God than we have ever been, and that means we will be nearer to all the wonderful things of God. We will be nearer to His love and kindness and to more of His people than ever before. What joy it will be to experience all the blessings of God in His very presence for the rest of eternity. That should help us endure anything that life might throw at us now. Paul reminds us of this in the great book of Romans.

Romans 8:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

While being nearer to God is an important thought for each one of us to cherish, let us not forget that it begins with drawing near to God right now.

James 4:8 (ESV)
⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

To be near to God now means to enjoy the fellowship with Him made possible by the cleansing blood of our Savior. This fellowship, though, can only be maintained by living pure lives, free from unrepentant sin. John reminds us that God is light, and so we can only have fellowship with Him by walking in the light (1 John 1:5-7). We must resist the devil now (James 4:7), so we can be nearer to God later. Let this be both our song and our lives.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.