Skip to main content

Seek His Presence...Continually!

 

Last week, I wrote about a Psalmist who yearned for and even fainted for the courts of the Lord (Ps 84).  One commentator suggested that the wording indicates that the Psalmist’s desire was deep and insatiable and that the very soul of the man was yearning for his God.  So it’s very  likely that his deep and insatiable desire was not just for the courts of the Lord but for the Lord Himself.

Another Psalm starts off this way:  “See the Lord and the strength; seek His presence continually!”  (Ps 105:4)

An inquisitive part of me wants to know why I should seek His presence before I give the “continually” a whole lot of consideration.  The investigative part of me found these verses that point to the reasons:

And the Lord said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  (Ex 33:14)

You lead me in the path of life. I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight.  (Ps 16:11 )

But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, as I declare all the things you have done.  (Ps 73:38)

I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence.  (Zeph 3:12)

So that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he may send the Messiah appointed for you—that is, Jesus.  (Acts 3:20)

The analytical part of me loves to reiterate the reasons with bullet points.  His presence:

·         Gives rest;

·         Is where I experience absolute joy;

·         Is really all that I need;

·         Is where I find safety;

·         Provides the refreshing I need.


Even with such beneficial, concise bullet points, sometimes my lack of faith gets in the way of enjoying His presence as I should.  But the beautiful irony is when I lack faith, that is when I need to be in His presence all the more.  And the more I am in His presence, the more my faith is strengthened!  And that is a cycle I should continually be on!

So not only should I have an insatiable desire for God but I should also have a desire to seek Him continually!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Year Trash or Treasure?

You probably know the old saying:  “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.  I am not going to try to prove or disprove it, just look at it from a different angle. Cheryl and I were recently walking on a beach in Florida .  A man was walking along with a bag and was picking up trash and putting it in the bag.  Was he picking up things of value? We also saw a different man walking along the same beach with a metal detector.  He would swing it back and forth and would occasionally stop and dig in the sand.  Was he looking for things of value? Both were intent.  Both were focused.  Both were diligent. I’m guessing that the one picking up trash was not looking for things of value.  I’m also guessing that, by picking up trash, he was valuing the beauty of the beach and didn’t want the trash to mar it.  The one with the metal detector, I’m guessing that he was not looking for metallic items of trash but was looking for...
1 comment
Read more

Beyond Understanding - It's a Wonderful Thing!

In my last post, I wrote that that God keeps certain things hidden (Deut 29:29).  In some cases, these hidden things are beyond our understanding.  In response to that, one Psalmist wrote that he did not occupy himself with things too great and too wonderful for him (Ps 131:1).  That’s a healthy response as we, as humans, are finite and cannot completely know everything about an infinite God. A quote attributed to American novelists, Philip Roth, speaks volumes on this:  “All that we don’t know is astonishing.  Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.” From a more spiritual perspective, one commentator put it this way:  "What God has thought proper to reveal, he has revealed what is essential to the well-being of man, and this revelation is intended not for the present time merely, nor for one people, but for all succeeding generations. The things which he has not revealed concern not man but God alone, and are therefore not to be inquired af...
Post a Comment
Read more

Don't Get Tripped Up

I do enjoy traveling and I keep an eye out for good prices. I also enjoy looking at trends in travel. For a while, the travel industry focused their advertising on taking those trips that might be on your bucket list.   That faded a bit and I started seeing ads about taking the trip of a lifetime. I guess both those campaigns have been waning since I’ve been seeing information about taking an “epic” trip.   Recently I noticed the phrase “unforgettable trip” in advertising.   More recently, I’ve been seeing promotions about taking “sustainable” trips and even “reconnecting to our roots” trips. As I’ve been pondering these advertising campaigns, I thought I’d consider what their ideas encompass and then look at them from a spiritual perspective: 1.   “ Bucket list trips ” are based on a list of the experiences a person might hope to have before they “kick the bucket” (i.e. die).   While I can certainly come up with a bucket list of trips, I’m thinking a bu...
Post a Comment
Read more