Tag Archive | God

Longing for His Presence

Oct12

Today my heart turns to longing.

                                                    What is it I’m longing for?

Is it a longing for possessions?

Is it a longing for fame?

Is it a longing for fortune?

Is it a longing for what the past has taken away from me?

Perhaps I long for a future unaffected by my past.

 

What my heart knows for sure is this.

If I’m longing for the things in this present world, I will be trapped by the care of them.

So called “Fame” will quench that longing for only a brief span of time.

Fortunes can be gained and lost with the stroke of a pen or the ring of the bell on Wall Street.

I can waste much precious energy brooding over what I have no ability to change.

My past has shaped the person I am now and in the future.

 

So what is it I long for that none of these things have the ability to fill?

I long for what is of eternal value, not the things that I own that only serve to tie me to the care of them.

Approval that lasts.  Not fame in the eyes of men, that is fleeting and fickle, where outward appearance is all that matters.

True treasure that is sustainable.  Often worldly wealth gains nothing but more sadness.

A remembering of the past, but without the searing pain of shame and regret.

A story with a “Happily ever after”.  Without my past, I would be different person, without my history, I would also be without my husband, my children, my grand children and the friends that surround me with their love and support.  Without it, the life I have now would be a life I could not even hope for.

 

So how do I achieve satisfaction for this longing?

                                                                                       By seeking His presence.

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

1 Samuel 16:7 (NASB)  But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Matthew 6:19 (NASB)  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Psalm 30:11 (NLT)  You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,

Mark 8:36 (KJV)  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

       So.

 I will seek His presence.

I’ll trust Him for everything I possess, and believe  that He knows what I have need of and let Him provide for me.

I will seek His presence.

I won’t strive to be famous, only obedient to His precepts.

I will seek His presence.

I won’t seek richness as the world defines richness.

I will seek His presence.

I won’t ruminate over my past. I will use those energies to have a deeper relationship with God, my heavenly Father.

I will seek His presence.

I will use the old template of my life, and turn it around to build the opposite in my future.

I will seek His Presence.

Would you seek His presence along with me?

Indescribable Concepts

Oct7

Indescribable;

*Beyond description

*Beyond words

*Unspeakable

*Inexpressible

*Unutterable

*Incommunicable

*Too “awe-full” for words

*Too wonderful for words

 

We have no concept how big God is.

Psalm 150:1 (NAS)

Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse.

 

We have no concept of the price Jesus paid for our lives.

   Romans 3:24 (NIRV)

       The free gift of God’s grace makes all of us right with him. Christ Jesus paid the price to set us free.

 

We have no concept of eternity.

 Isaiah 43:13 (NAS)

“Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

 

We have no concept of heaven.

 2 Peter 3:13 (NAS)

But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

 

We have no concept of hell.

Revelation 20:14 (NAS)

         Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

 

We have no concept of how choosing Him, will change everything.

  Joshua 24:15 (NIRV)

   “But suppose you don’t want to serve him. Then choose for yourselves right now whom you will serve. You can choose the gods your people served east of the Euphrates River. Or you can choose the gods the Amorites serve. After all, you are living in their land. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

 

We have no concept that He knew us before we ever were.

     Jeremiah 1:5 (NAS)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

 

We have no concept that He chose us already and we just need to choose Him back.

          Psalms 132:13 (NIRV)

          The Lord has chosen Zion.

(That’s you if you know Him.  If you have not had your Significant Encounter with Him yet, please visit the rescue page on this blog) 

       That’s the place where he wants to live.  (In your heart)

            

John 15:19 (NIRV)

If you belonged to the world, it would love you like one of its own. But you do not belong to the world. I have chosen you out of the world.

 

We have no concept of just how much God wants to love on us.

 Ephesians 3:20 (KJV)

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

 

We have no concept that He wants to tell us great things.

    Jeremiah 33:3 (NASB)

        ‘ Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

 

We have no concept that He wants to lavish us with grace and love and mercy.

Ephesians 1:7-9 (NASB)

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.

 

We have no concept that when we rejoice, so does He.

Romans 12:15a

Rejoice with those who rejoice,

 

We have no concept that when we cry, He does too.

Romans 12:15b

and weep with those who weep.

 

We have no concept that He wants to hold us when we’re hurting.

  Job 36:15 (NIRV)

But God saves suffering people while they are suffering. He speaks to them while they are hurting.

 

We  no concept that He wants to heal us when we’re sick.

     Psalms 30:2 (NIRV)

Lord my God, I called out to you for help. And you healed me.

 

We have no concept that He wants to find us when we’re lost.

     Luke 15:24 (NIRV)

This son of mine was dead. And now he is alive again. He was lost. And now he is found.’ “So they began to celebrate.

 

We have no concept of how much He wants us to be like Him.

        John 5:19 (NIRV)

Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does.

           John 14:12 (NIRV)

“What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. In fact, he will do even greater things. That is because I am going to the Father.

 

We have no concept of how He wants to have us dream with Him forever.

                Daniel 2:28 (NAS)

However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed.

 

So here it is.

The whole truth and nothing but the truth.

 

Indescribable right?

What concept do you need Him to be for you?

Can you TRY to describe it?

 

 

A Significant Encounter

Sep12

Lately I’ve been reading over some of my journals.

I was actually looking for a certain writing, one from back in December of 2008.

It was then that I had a “Significant Encounter” with God.

This was not my first “Significant Encounter” with Him; however it may have been the most life changing one that I can remember.

I was just beginning to come out from what I called the “Cave Days”, more on that in a different post.  Suffice to say, I still was not standing too steadily, but I had spent an enormous amount of time asking God some questions.  These questions seemed insurmountable to me, but to Him? Not so much.

The questions I was asking were actually the right kind.  They weren’t the “Why?” questions, which Graham Cooke calls “victim questions”.  These questions were more like “What am I supposed to do with all this?” and “What should I be learning from all of this?” and “How will this ever turn into something that will glorify You?”

The voice of a friend who just returned from living in Africa as a missionary rang in my ears .  “We are human beings, not human doings.”  Yet I asked also if that wasn’t what just I had been doing for the past six or seven years, “Being?”

Now, about that certain writing, the one from back in December of 2008, here’s how that went.

I was happy to drive the forty or so miles north of where I live to hear a speaker from an adjoining state.  Her style and excitement had always captivated me in the past, and I felt that perhaps she could help to lift my mood.  My mood wasn’t bad, per se, but I certainly wasn’t too exuberant about things these days.  I was just drifting along. 

When I arrived, my mood seemed to lift somewhat, and I was enjoying what I was hearing.  Then in my head, I heard myself asking God one more time, “Just what is it I’m supposed to be doing?” 

The answer was immediate.  “Go back to the darkest of your days and bring those trapped there, here, to where you are with Me.”

My heart sank, and my head replied “I can’t do that!  I don’t know how!”  My knees hit the floor when I sensed Gods displeasure with my response.  I could almost hear Him say “You’ll asked me literally for years what I want you to do, I tell you, and you say you can’t?”

True repentance could be my only response.

A bit later, one of the speakers’ team prayed with me.  She told me that I was living with “Death Structures.”

I did not know what “Death Structures” were, but my journey to find our was only just beginning.

(Next post – Death Structures)