Tuesday's Thoughts

James 4:8a, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (NKJV)

It is amazing to fully realize the fact that God desires to draw near to each of us. God desires to fellowship with us although He knows us inside and out. He is fully aware of all our quirks, our hurts, our sorrows, our doubts, our fears, our heartaches, etc. YET He sill desires to draw near to us. I am so thankful that God is interested in me and my journey of life. I encourage you to take a momentary pause from reading this blog and join me in saying, "Thank you God for loving me and for desiring to be a part of my life!!!"

Theologian and Pastor Michael Ramsey once said, “The secret (to prayer) is the quest of God’s presence.” God wants you and me to share our needs and desires, our fears and insecurities, but He also invites us to simply come into His presence and be transformed. When we pray, our aim should be nothing less than an encounter of divine love. This is one of the reasons that satan interferes with our private times with God. The enemy of our soul does not want us to have an encounter with the Love of God. There is a difference in our lives when we encounter the Love of God whether it is during a time of personal fellowship with God or when it is an encounter with an individual who has become a conduit of God's love!!

The Word of God provides us a powerful response that David made when God invited Him into His presence. Oh the joy of being invited into the presence of God. Do you remember the emotions that flooded Esther’s mind and heart when she was preparing to enter into the presence of the King? What would happen to the present day church if we took the same approach to entering into the presence of God whether it is in the public arena of church or the private arena of personal devotionals? 

Let us pay close attention David’s response to the invitation from God. “You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (Psalm 27:8).

HOW WILL WE RESPOND TO GOD’S INVITATION TODAY? Will we take the time to enter into His presence or will we choose to just go about our daily life without an encounter with the presence of God?