We all come before God in our own way. Some read the Word; others write their prayers. The blog today is a simple outline of approaches that will be further discussed in future blogs. When I have practiced these as the Spirit leads me, I have experienced the sweetness of His Presence in tangible ways. Sometimes I have felt deeply loved; other times beauty covered everything; He often gives me a shake or a feeling of spiritual water passing through me. Especially soothing is the sense of rich spiritual oil easing my anxiety. Time can lapse without my awareness. He may whisper a phrase or remain quiet. I might receive an image of myself doing something that He has planned. Every way that He comes is good and lovely. He comes to some people with clear imagery and to others, speaking at length. Sometimes He is present, but cannot be felt. Other times His peace simply rests in the room.
I encourage you, pursue Him so
I had intended to enter a belated Thanksgiving blog, but My Blessed Friend asked me to enter this poem, a prayer, that I wrote to Him several years ago. He is our Truth and our Light. Hear how He prevails.
Sing, good Truth, Your ancient song;
Fashion stunning weapons to obliterate wrong;
Transform the weak to prevail over the strong;
Chase memories down corridors where they do not belong.
Shine Light, dear Truth; open eyes of the blind;
Tear up masks that the mind
Meticulously painted to hide behind;
Unveil the faces that you find.
Truth, steal kisses within the breast
Where dread and beauty spar and rest.
Shatter holes in images, putting dreams to savage test;
Create a blinding paradox to drive the soul into a quest.
Truth, whisper honesty at an
We do many things for God, but how often do we feel His presence as we do them. Devotional time gives Him opportunity to show up. Expect Him to come. Pay close attention to the atmosphere and listen for Him. Let Him know that you want an encounter. Let your longing reach out for Him so that He is pulled from heaven to be with you. His intention in creating you was to make you a garden of love where He can come in and commune with you. The time you spend with Him has the potential to give you tastes of heaven.
At times, we endure heart crushing experiences. Our mind is sent reeling. While thoughts swim in a sea of words with no focus, we struggle to function in small tasks. The pain twists our heart like a wet rag. Everything that we thought our life to be is thrown into question. Every task seems useless, every encounter painfully empty. Nothing seems worth enduring. Sorrow … anguish … longing threaten to shut us down. Who do I think that I am to suggest praise at such times?
This is the challenge of a believer. When all goes horribly wrong, has God turned against us? When life has morphed into a bad dream, has God left us to fend for ourselves? Some will dare to suggest that such experiences will not happen to a faithful follower, but Biblical and historical accounts of suffering saints tell us that even favored friends of God can suffer such grief. Saint like followers have one thing in common. They do not cease
Seeking God to know Him is like climbing a mountain. The assent appears impossible, but we have ropes. These ropes are the words of the Bible, which we hoist ourselves upon, trusting that they will bear our weight. Faith is the muscle that we flex, which is increasingly strengthened by practice. When we are dangling at an unsafe height and afraid of falling, we must hang tightly upon the ropes, the word, with the muscle of our faith, and seek the toe holds that He provides from His mercy. He wants us to ascend Him, to know His ways, His paths and His mercies, so He provides a way for us to wrestle up the giant Rock, which is Himself. We know Him more when we personally encounter His majesty, ascend to behold His Face, then experience His view of all things. The beauty is unspeakable: the trees, streams, cliff faces, clouds and scenic landscapes instill a hunger for more glimpses of stunning holiness, driving us up His
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