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Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

In the Presence of God


In God's presence, nothing else matters. Not that phone call or the bill looming over my head or hunger for the things of this world. In a second of time, it all goes away, and I'm caught and held in His beauty. In the presence of God, it feels like I'm in a vacuum of glory with waves of His love rolling over me.

Whenever we experience Him like this, we need to stay put, basking in His love, while He lifts us up to a higher place, heals us, and transforms our minds to become more like Him. Don't rush. Take time to love His presence.

Sometimes it's like we've drilled a hole in heaven's floor with our praises and suddenly, down flows the glory. "Why would I need to drill a hole in heaven?" you might ask. I think it's because faith and action go hand in hand. We can't just sit still, doing nothing, and expect God to pour blessings over us. In some way, we need to take a step in faith, grab hold of the glory or the healing or the filling of the Holy Spirit. It takes stepping out and doing something—praising, worshiping, dancing before the Lord, and believing enough to reach out. Not that we make it happen. But faith and action do bring about change and create an effect in the spiritual realm around us. "On earth as it is in heaven" inspires me to grab hold of the things of heaven and bring them to earth every chance I get.

Oh, how I love God's presence. I want to walk in it all day long, dancing in swirls of glory. If there's a cure-all for every need, it's being in the presence of God. I'm not talking about finding a quiet place to meditate or me telling God all my requests or reciting the Word. While these can be glorious, what I'm talking about is stepping into the stream of the very presence of God, and once I'm there, basking in that other realm for a while.

In His presence, I am changed, no longer the same.
In His presence is where I long to be, realms of glory taking over me.
Heaven is filled with awe and wonder,
And, oh, I've caught a glimpse.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Blessed are the hungry...


You mean, hunger is a good thing?

Have you ever been really hungry? You've had a crazy-busy day. Dinnertime rolls around, and you realize you didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. You smell pizza cooking, and every olfactory receptor stands at attention. Oh, yes. You are ready to devour anything edible in sight.
Hunger brings longing. An aching need for fulfillment. In the same way, if that longing is for God, to know Him, to experience Him, to delight in Him, then hunger is a good thing. A life-changing thing.
In the presence of God, we find joy, peace, an amazing realization of love, and a confirmation of all the promises He’s given—and so many other things. And the best way I know to transform into God’s realm is through worship. Spending time alone with my Savior. Praising Him.
Worship resolves anxiety. Soothes my troubled spirit. Brings rest. Peace.
When I get lost in worshiping the Lord, it humbles me as I forget my surroundings, the pressures of the day, my to-do list, and worries. Focusing on the Lord brings me close to Him. The magnificent One. The author of peace. The one who died for me. Suffered for me. Rose again so I could too!
Why do I forget sometimes?
Life gets hectic. I spend more time asking for things in prayer than simply bowing at His feet in worship—or dancing before him in the hills. Oh, to delight in Him. To love Him beyond measure.
When we get hungry, really hungry, we are blessed. Satisfied. And yet, like tasting a scrumptious brownie fresh from the oven, we only want more.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Mt 5:5
My soul finds rest in God alone;  Psalm 62:1  

Only You are righteous and holy,
You are faithful and true,
Only You by Your grace and Your mercy,
Change my life so all can see…Only You.

(“Only You” written for Winter’s Past by Lance Simmons & Mary Hanks. You can listen to this song at http://tinyurl.com/bel73m5)