Reason #371
I love any opportunity to talk about God and what I'm learning each day. I'm thankful He never stops teaching me. And, as with life in general, the more you learn and experience, the more you realize you've got a lot to learn. But we'll never figure Him out, and I'm thankful for that. Because what happens when you've solved a mystery? What happens when you've found an absolute answer? You quit searching. You stop looking and seeking and you let it go. The case is closed, leaving you no option other than to move on to the next thing.
But here's what I've noticed as I've tried to figure Him out. The more I search and seek, the more I want to know. I hunger for answers. I long for His presence. I can't keep my excitement at bay. But I realize I don't spend enough time doing this. I have good intentions and I want to, but I let time get in the way and the next thing I know, I've forgotten how desperately my soul needs to be in His presence.
Think about someone you enjoy spending time with. For one reason or another, you love being in their presence. You anticipate seeing them, and you make special plans to do so. You set precious time aside to spend time with them. And how do you feel when you don't see them as often? You desire to see them, you want to have that time with them. You miss them, and you look forward to simply being in their presence again because being with them is where you want to be. It's enjoyable, it's uplifting, it's fun and it does your heart all sorts of good. However, days pass, time passes and you forget that you begin to forget that miss them because you've gotten used to being away from them. You forget how you feel when you're around them, and you being to fill your time with other things that distract you and hold your attention. But then there's that phone call or text message, a reminder that too much time has passed, and you wonder how you let that happen. So you meet up again, only to be reminded of how much you love spending time with this person, and how refreshing and good it is to be with them.
This happens to me when I talk about God. As you've well noticed, I can hardly contain my enthusiasm on Sundays because I get spoiled with His presence all day. I get to intentionally focus and spend time worshipping Him, however, that's not an option that just presents itself on Sundays. And so I have an opportunity to talk about Him, I begin to dwell on Him, and my heart is filled with joy. To simply be in His presence, I'm quickly reminded that it's the best place to be and I wonder why I don't keep myself there constantly. Because I desperately need Him. I become forgetful and busy and I regret those moments that I spend elsewhere.
Tonight, I was reminded of this as I shared about what God has done and is doing for me. Tonight, I was reminded of the joy of God's presence when we just take the time to place ourselves there. And I was reminded of how God will go to great lenghts to keep us there if we so desire. He'll stir in our hearts, He'll give us hunger pains, He'll captivate us in such a way that we can only be satisfied by His word alone. But He does this because He longs to spend time with us, too. He longs to be in the presence of His beloved child. And He wants us to know Him more. He doesn't want to be this mysterious, absent Father. No, He wants to keep us close and pull us closer. And I'm grateful for that. I'm thankful that He wants to be near me. I'm thankful that He wants to spend time with me. And I'm glad He never turns me down. I'm glad He's never too busy or too rushed to give me His attention. Because any opportunity we have to sit at His feet, we should take. And He welcomes it, He wants it, and when we spend time there, we quickly remember that this is where we want to be.
#371 - Because of the joy that comes from being in His presence.
"A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!: - Psalm 84:10
But here's what I've noticed as I've tried to figure Him out. The more I search and seek, the more I want to know. I hunger for answers. I long for His presence. I can't keep my excitement at bay. But I realize I don't spend enough time doing this. I have good intentions and I want to, but I let time get in the way and the next thing I know, I've forgotten how desperately my soul needs to be in His presence.
Think about someone you enjoy spending time with. For one reason or another, you love being in their presence. You anticipate seeing them, and you make special plans to do so. You set precious time aside to spend time with them. And how do you feel when you don't see them as often? You desire to see them, you want to have that time with them. You miss them, and you look forward to simply being in their presence again because being with them is where you want to be. It's enjoyable, it's uplifting, it's fun and it does your heart all sorts of good. However, days pass, time passes and you forget that you begin to forget that miss them because you've gotten used to being away from them. You forget how you feel when you're around them, and you being to fill your time with other things that distract you and hold your attention. But then there's that phone call or text message, a reminder that too much time has passed, and you wonder how you let that happen. So you meet up again, only to be reminded of how much you love spending time with this person, and how refreshing and good it is to be with them.
This happens to me when I talk about God. As you've well noticed, I can hardly contain my enthusiasm on Sundays because I get spoiled with His presence all day. I get to intentionally focus and spend time worshipping Him, however, that's not an option that just presents itself on Sundays. And so I have an opportunity to talk about Him, I begin to dwell on Him, and my heart is filled with joy. To simply be in His presence, I'm quickly reminded that it's the best place to be and I wonder why I don't keep myself there constantly. Because I desperately need Him. I become forgetful and busy and I regret those moments that I spend elsewhere.
Tonight, I was reminded of this as I shared about what God has done and is doing for me. Tonight, I was reminded of the joy of God's presence when we just take the time to place ourselves there. And I was reminded of how God will go to great lenghts to keep us there if we so desire. He'll stir in our hearts, He'll give us hunger pains, He'll captivate us in such a way that we can only be satisfied by His word alone. But He does this because He longs to spend time with us, too. He longs to be in the presence of His beloved child. And He wants us to know Him more. He doesn't want to be this mysterious, absent Father. No, He wants to keep us close and pull us closer. And I'm grateful for that. I'm thankful that He wants to be near me. I'm thankful that He wants to spend time with me. And I'm glad He never turns me down. I'm glad He's never too busy or too rushed to give me His attention. Because any opportunity we have to sit at His feet, we should take. And He welcomes it, He wants it, and when we spend time there, we quickly remember that this is where we want to be.
#371 - Because of the joy that comes from being in His presence.
"A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!: - Psalm 84:10
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