Maybe it’s because of something you did. Maybe it’s because you don’t think you’ve earned it. Maybe it’s because nobody ever told you why you should want to. Whatever the reason, here’s a question worth sitting with: why does approaching God feel uncomfortable for so many of us?

An ancient letter in the New Testament — written to a group of people who were quietly drifting away from their faith — answers that question better than almost anything else. It’s a section of the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, and it offers something most religious instruction does not: permission to come close without flinching.

Why approaching God feels uncomfortable

If your gut reaction to “draw near to God” is to tense up, you are not alone. The Bible itself describes a long history of people staying away from God because they were afraid of what would happen if they got too close.

The early parts of the Bible describe an entire system designed to keep distance between people and a God who is, frankly, holy. Smoke. Thunder. Curtains. Priests who entered God’s presence on everyone else’s behalf because nobody else was supposed to get that close. The message was clear: God is real, He is good, and we are not in a position to walk in casually.

Most of us still operate with some version of that instinct. We tell ourselves we need to clean up our lives, get our doubts in order, fix the relationship we keep avoiding — and then we’ll think about God. The problem is that none of that actually gets us closer. It just keeps us busy at a safe distance.

What Hebrews 10 says actually changed

Hebrews 10 is the answer to that distance. The writer spends nine and a half chapters making one case: Jesus changed everything.

He is not just one more religious teacher. He is the only person in history who lived a perfect life, willingly stepped into the death every other person earned, and then walked out of His own grave three days later.

What that means, practically, is that the thing standing between you and God — your guilt, your shame, your unfinished business — has already been handled. Not by you. By Him.

That is why Hebrews 10:19 makes a move that would have shocked any first-century reader: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter [God’s presence] by the blood of Jesus…” The very thing that used to keep people away — the thing that required smoke and priests and curtains — is now the thing that brings them close. Because Jesus handled it.

What it looks like when you stop flinching

This past Sunday, Pastor Jim used a small, vivid picture for this. He talked about being a kid and flinching whenever his dad moved his hand quickly — bracing for a swat that wasn’t actually coming. The flinch was learned. The fear was real. And it took a long time to unlearn.

A lot of people approach God exactly like that. They flinch. Every prayer feels like it’s being graded. Every quiet moment with their own thoughts ends in a reminder of everything they are not.

The promise of Hebrews 10 is that, in Christ, you can stop flinching. There is no swing coming. There is no leftover anger waiting to land. If you belong to Jesus, you are absolutely, completely invited into the presence of God — and what is waiting there for you is blessing, not punishment.

Why this matters even if you have never been religious

If you are not a Christian, or if you have never seriously considered what Christianity actually claims, it is worth slowing down here. The Bible is not trying to hand you a self-help framework. It is not telling you to try harder. It is making a much bigger claim: that there is a God who is real, who knows you exactly as you are, and who has already done the work to make a relationship with Him possible.

You do not have to clean yourself up to come to Him. You can come uncertain. You can come tired. You can come carrying everything you have never said out loud to anyone. The invitation is not “fix yourself first.” The invitation is “come.”

That is what we believe. That is why we show up on Sundays. And if any of this is resonating — even a little — we would love to meet you.

First Baptist Church Concord meets every Sunday — Sunday School at 9:15 AM and worship at 10:30 AM. We’re at 200 Branchview Dr SE, Concord, NC 28025, and we’d love to meet you.

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