It is not by advancing in spiritual growth that we move towards peace with God. It is from peace with God that we advance in spiritual growth. How many are spiritually working really hard to get close to God, when the truth is, “But now in Christ Jesus, you who formally were far off on HAVE BEEN brought near.” Ephesians 2:13. According to Colossians 3:3, your life is now “hidden with Christ in God.” You can’t get any closer to God than being in Christ. You dwell at the most intimate level with God’s presence, and it had nothing to do with anything you have done or could ever do because you already “have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” There are no barriers between you and God anymore because the enmity between you and God was put to death on the Cross. There is peace between you and God, and so now you can concentrate your energy on cultivating a consciousness of His presence. If you spend all your time trying to work your way into a good place with God, then you will live an exhausted Christian life. You are in a good place with God already because Ephesians 3:14 says, “Christ himself is our peace” with God. In light of that, you don’t have to fear rejection, condemnation, punishment, or separation from God. You are seated in the heavenly places in Christ, and therefore you just have to open your spiritual eyes and recognize that you have been seated and are now seated in the highest place of intimacy and privilege with God. Seeking God doesn’t mean we’re trying to find someone who is far-off. It means we are seeking to discover more about the one in whose presence we live, and therefore the life of spiritual disciplines is not about earning or achieving. Instead, they become expressions of beholding His beauty in all its vastness to discover more so that we can see, believe and experience more of the All that is ours with Christ in God.