In the Old Testament, God made it clear that because He was holy and all of humanity were sinners, they could not come near Him. If they did so without His beckoning, they would do so at the expense of their own life.
In Exodus 19, God made it clear that when He descended upon Mount Sinai to give the Law, the people weren't even to touch the mountain. If they did, they would die.
In Leviticus 16, God made it clear that anyone who entered the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle/temple would die (unless they were the High Priest and only on the Day of Atonement and only if they came with the blood of a sacrifice).
In 2 Samuel 6, God showed how serious He was about that which was Holy. As the Ark of the Covenant was being improperly transported, it became unstable and a man named Uzzah reach out to touch that which was holy and associated with God. God killed him.
The holiness of God, simply put, demands that we cannot come near God. As sinners, approaching God means that we would do so at the expense of our own life.
Yet, in eternity past, God determined that He would remedy this problem at the expense of the life of His Son. He sent Jesus to be born of a virgin with the ultimate purpose of dying on the cross as the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin.
Therefore, anyone who places their trust in Jesus (and not themselves) to make them right in the eyes of a Holy God are declared forgiven (our sin debt is paid) and righteous (Jesus' perfect righteousness is credited to us). Thus, we can approach a Holy God because Jesus has made us holy (Colossians 3:12).
But, not only can we approach God, we can do so with great confidence. Unlike the High Priest who approached God with a sense of solemnity and great fear, we can approach Him in fellowship with confidence in our right standing with Him because of Jesus.
"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
Yet, it's one thing to realize that we can approach a Holy God. It's quite another to actually spend time in His presence in Bible reading, prayer and living with a conscience awareness of His presence.
Will you take advantage of this incredible privilege today ... and tomorrow ...?
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