Practicing the Wonder-Filled Presence of God

An Introduction to Season 6

Beauty. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. How it touches each of us deeply. Moves us toward something, moves us even toward sacrifice and to let go of the grip that self has on us.

I've heard it said, "Beauty will save us."

Not materialism or the surface-level or self-gratifying kind. No, real beauty. The beauty which captures our attention and captivates our hearts.

The way a morning sun peeks through the leaves of the trees.

The way a child giggles and laughs uncontrollably and so whimsically.

The way a hand held in mine or the arm of a friend around me reminds me I'm not alone.

The way the smell of clean sheets invite me to surrender to rest and drift into dreams after a long day.

The way a homemade and freshly buttered roll melts in your mouth, offering a moment of comfort and a reminder to slow down and take in this goodness and delight.

We're fresh off the Christmas season, and the gift of Christmas - the miracle of Jesus - is the ultimate gift of beauty. As we noticed, people missed the beauty, they missed Christmas altogether. They had the Son of God before their very eyes. They listened to his voice - the same voice which spoke the sun and earth and all living things into existence was speaking to and with them. They felt his hands, his embrace, his friendship from shared laughter. They tasted the depth of real friendship and love, often gathering around a table or in groups spread across a field. They could smell the fragrance of wood on him after he had been working on a carpentry task and the smell of the sour wine offered to him and the stench of death as they prepared his body for burial.

He was not someone they only heard about. He was not a figment of their imagination. He was real and fully human. They could hear, see, feel, taste and smell Him for themselves. But still, many - many, many, many - missed Him.

They had eyes but they could not see.

Ears but they could not hear.

Hearts but they could not feel or smell or taste the beauty before them.

They missed the miracle - the very presence of God with them - because of many reasons (things like expectations and busyness, for one), but it all comes down to a hardened heart. Even good things in and of themselves - like following the law - led to a hardened heart for many.

And it's worth our study and attention because these ancient stories have been preserved for us against all odds, so I have to believe there's something here for us that's so much bigger than a holiday. We don't have to just move on with the current of culture on December 26th; we can lean into reflection as we start a new year. There is something deeper for us here if we dare to let this Beauty captivate us and lead us.

How humbling, deeply convicting to sit with this question - how many times have I missed the very presence of God in my midst?

Again, expectations - that rings so very true for me. My natural response to interruptions and things not going my preferred way is "I don't have time for this" or "Not today" or "I don't want this." Yet, what if it's the circumstances before us - whether things we welcome or the minute or overwhelming trouble that comes - is where we will experience God today?

I'm learning to breathe when trouble comes and try to say, "I welcome this. I welcome an overflowing toilet as nasty as that is. I welcome a strong-willed co-worker. I welcome a sick kiddo to stay home with when PTO was just used for Christmas. I welcome the impatient driver who just cut into my lane. I welcome an unwanted diagnosis. I welcome conflict in a close relationship. Whatever it is... God, I don't want this but help me welcome this today. I know You are here in this, so help me experience You through this today. Help me learn what Your Spirit wants to teach me today through this."

It's a matter of changing my expectations, but it's also about slowing down. Pushing back from the busyness, notice I mentioned learning to breathe. There is something so freeing that happens as I take a deep breath.

Scientifically, my brain receives more oxygen. This helps me lower my emotional reaction and give way to more logical reasoning. But also, this deep breath awakens my senses. I inhale oxygen and am renewed to fight to stay present here - not jump on the highway of thought in my mind, tempting me to worry or become anxious or fearful. I fight to be right here, choosing to trust God is here with me.

Take a deep breath. Do you feel the renewal of oxygen and a subtle and gentle awakening to this moment?

This fight to be present is a war. Think of it this way: if all of our life - every single moment of our life - is all about our relationship with God, then it makes sense the enemy does not want us to be present. He wants us ruminating on the past or anxious of what's to come. But, God is meeting us right here in our present.

I don't want to miss any more opportunities to hear and see and feel Him, to smell the fragrance of new life He offers or taste the freedom He died to give me.

Though I believe God created us with our senses to help with survival (a sense of touch to warn us when we're too close to a flame and it can cause harm, etc), I truly believe this purpose goes much, much deeper. He knows we need Him to survive, so He gives us our five senses to awaken us to His presence in our midst.

I think we miss Him not because we're not using our senses, but because there is so much sensory pollution. We're inundated every moment of every day with sights and sounds. If we are not intentional to tune in to the Beauty with us, we will miss Him.

Again, "Beauty will save us," so let's prayerfully start this year together asking God, "Father, give us eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to feel and understand. As we do, may we learn to walk in step with the Spirit of Holiness and may Your fragrance of heaven linger on us and be a gift we give to others - so they may be drawn to this scent and come to taste and see for themselves the goodness and wonder of your love."

God's love - Paul explained it this way:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. - Ephesians 3:16-21

If we are to experience the wonder of God's love - to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, to be filled with the fullness of God, we need to awaken our souls to this Beauty here with us.

In Season 6 of the podcast, this is the invitation for us. We will spend time with each of our five senses, starting with our ears. I'm so hopeful and prayerful of what God has in store for us. May we learn how to fight to be present, and in doing so, welcome the very One who came to give us life.

I so hope you'll join us back here next week - same time, same place - for more encouragement.

Our strength grows as we rely on strength from above. Our joy grows as we see God transforming us from the inside out. Our peace grows as we spend time in God's presence, and we find rest when we intentionally seek the Lord first in our lives, for the Lord is ever our portion.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.