by Alisha | Aug 6, 2012 | Uncategorized
Psalm 84:1-2 NLT How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.
You were created for the presence of God.
There is a desire – a yearning – in each of us to be with Him, to experience His holy pres-ence, His love, His peace, His joy, and to gaze upon His beauty. There is no place else that can satisfy this longing. Nothing else will do.
His presence has everything you need. If you need answers or direction for your life, or if you’re in need of more joy, then you must make time to be with Him: Psalm 16:11 (NKJ) You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Do you need to be refreshed, revived or rejuvenated? Then enter into His presence: Acts 3:19 (KJV) …times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Are you weary, tired and in need of rest? Exodus 33:14 (AMP) And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.
Are you feeling weak? In His presence is strength: 1 Chronicles 16:27 (KJV) Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Do you need a place to run and hide, or to just get away from the cares of this life and its strife? Psalm 31:20 (NKJ) You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
The presence of the Lord is our refuge. It’s our secret place. It is where we partake of intimate union and communion with Him. In His presence we receive His mercy and unfailing love. We experience the warmth of His embrace.
It’s no wonder our hearts “faint with longing” for Him.
The Amplified version of Psalm 84:2 says, My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God.
Once you’ve experienced the beauty of His presence, you will yearn for more of Him!
But how does one enter into the presence of God?
Psalm 100:2,4 (KJV) says, Come before His presence with singing…Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.
And Psalm 95:2 (AMP) says, Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
In Psalm 22:3, we see that God inhabits the praises of His people.
The door to His presence is thanksgiving, praise and worship. If you will cultivate a lifestyle of praising and worshiping the Lord, then you will begin to sense His tangible presence more and more. He will inhabit your praises!
The Lord loves you! He desires you! He created you to be with Him — to live in His presence. So enter into His holy presence with thanksgiving. Sing songs of praise and worship to Him throughout the day.
Develop a lifestyle of love and adoration toward Him. Then you will find yourself dwelling in that secret place. You will experience the beauty of His presence like never before, and you will truly satisfy that deep longing and yearning in your heart for the living God!
(Photo: Thinkstock/The Knot)
by Alisha | Jul 30, 2012 | Uncategorized
As mothers, there are numerous occasions when one of our children may fall down and hurt themselves. Or perhaps they get their feelings hurt by a sibling or someone else. Or maybe they are afraid of something. At those times, there is only one place that will bring comfort and peace to that little one – our arms.
We naturally scoop them up into our lap, wrap them in our arms, and begin to reassure them. We may gently rock them, kiss them, sing to them, quiet them. We give them our time and attention. We give them our love. We tell them it’s going to be all right.
Our loving embrace brings comfort, peace, and consolation like nothing else can. And usually, after just a few moments, that little one calms down and jumps out of our lap to run and play and be all joyful once again!
Have you ever been hurt or afraid, and wished that you were a small child again so that you could be held, comforted, and reassured that everything – the circumstances or situations you are facing – will be all right?
If so, then I’ve got wonderful news for you!
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) says, The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
And, Psalm 68:19 (NLT) tells us that …each day He carries us in His arms.
I love the picture this gives us of our heavenly Father! This is just like what we as mothers do for our children. We “quiet them with our love.” We sing to them to comfort and console them. But our Father can do this so much better!
Zephaniah tells us that He takes great delight in us! He loves us like no other can. Our problems, our hurts, our fears all matter to Him. He wants us to come running to Him. And He will scoop us into His lap, wrap us in His arms, sing songs to us, and quiet us with His love!
As much as we love our children, desire the best for them, and would do anything for them, God’s love for us is far greater!
The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7:11 (AMP), If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!
He loves us so much more than we could ever love our children. And because of Jesus, we can run to Him fearlessly and confidently any time we need Him (which is every moment of every day)!
Hebrews 4:16 (AMP) says, Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace…that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
Isn’t that wonderful? Aren’t you glad you can come into His presence – His throne of grace – without fear or condemnation, and receive His grace to help, “appropriate and well-timed help…just when you need it?”
He is so good and so faithful!
I don’t believe we can even begin to fathom God’s great love for us, but we can rest assured in the following truths about Him:
- He has a great and wonderful and intense love for us! (Eph. 2:4 AMP)
- He delights in every detail of our lives. (Ps. 37:23 NLT)
- He cares for us affectionately and cares about us watchfully. (1 Pet. 5:7 AMP)
- His goodness and unfailing love pursues us all the days of our lives. (Ps. 23:6 NLT)
Whatever you are going through today, whatever hurt or fear you may be experiencing, whatever the situation or circumstance, run to your heavenly Father. Allow Him to scoop you up and wrap you in His loving arms. Receive His love, His comfort, and His encouragement. Listen as He rejoices over you with singing. Let Him quiet you with His love.
He will make everything all right.
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