Peace, rest, affirmation, freedom, and joy are only a handful of benefits when we purposely dwell on the majesty of our Maker. The methods may differ, rather by prayer, meditation, reading, or simply sitting quietly in contemplation; however, these all are necessary components to bringing us the genuine happiness that we’re to indulge in as Christians if we’re to seek Him as He ought to be sought. As much as I love and adore those who adorn my days, my beloved family and friends, there is not a place I’d rather be than sitting in prolonged silence while reading with, and about, God with a cup of coffee in hand. It is truly during these hours that I find my soul recharged and ready to, not only take on the life He has planned out for me, but eagerly anticipate experiencing Him fully after death.
Without allowing for, or planning, these moments where our minds and hearts are free to ponder the God we worship, we are inviting the fluctuating feelings of the flesh and the wavering ways of the world to consume us all the more. Even if, for the brief periods of time when we are saturated by the living water that is Christ Jesus, those minutes are spent and cannot be taken back. The time taken to intentionally ponder all that God is is undoubtedly irretrievable and so it should be. What occurs during these sittings where the silence rules the space is the ability to hear His voice through written words, transparent communication, and an invisible growth of the soul.
The problem persists, though, of the lack of perseverance to ponder the things of God. We are more prone to soak up the circumstantial aspects of whatever is going on in our lives: be that child rearing, marriage maintenance, tactics of employment, pretty much any relational or motivational premise that tends to threaten to define our existence. We can attest to the devotion we have for our trinitarian Teacher, but how can we carry this out, devoid of hypocrisy, if our time reveling in Him slowly becomes weeks, months, and then, years, as we pound through them without keeping our sole focus on our Creator?
As this next year of the calendar turns, these are my focused thoughts on theology. How have I let life creep in so that my time spent in the happiest place on this earth, in sitting within an outward silence allowing His Word to speak, in avowing to maintain a firm stance to settle in for these mindful meetings with God, has lessened? How have you? Let us burst forth, not waiting until tomorrow, with a renewed, only Spirit driven, desire to ensure we aren’t having to carve out time in our schedules, but with a sincere earnestness that can’t wait to commune with Him.
As written in the first paragraph of this post, eager anticipation of death is real, in my opinion. This ought to be fact for Christians, but many I share this with don’t agree. To those, I ask, where is your allegiance? What keeps one from being hesitant to leave this life and enter His kingdom fully? This is not to say that I detest the life given me, but is a concise conviction that there is an unadulterated, uninterrupted, and unimaginable eternity I so look forward to as I am thrust wholly into the presence of God. No distractions, no noise, no disturbances: only the veritable awe of God surrounding and filling my being. Until that threshold is crossed, I strive to know deeper the God that centers my worship and will, by His grace alone, clear the noise, clean the clutter, and read His Word with the eyes He’s given me, pray with words as the Spirit guides me, meditate on His character and awesomeness as revealed in Scripture, and, most importantly, hope for these moments to be birthed from a heart that is steadfast in sincerely seeking Him.
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