Home for the Holidays

Psalm 68: 6

God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

The holidays are a time of friends and family and yet for many people, it is the loneliest time of the year. A friend of mind mentioned recently that loneliness is a pronounced contributor to mental illness. Most of us have dealt with loneliness at some point in our lives but God is present to say, today, that we need not be lonely. We have a God who cares for us. Moreover, He is a caring, loving father and He has made a place for us in His heart.

I want you to know that God is actively thinking about you right now. He has plans for your well-being. Despite your current situation, you do not have to live apart from love. The transformation, however, often takes place inside of you first. Some of us are alone because some of our decisions led us into the place of aloneness. Whatever is in our hearts, though, that keeps us isolated, can be renewed so that we find a world of people who are willing and even desirous of spending time with us.

Have you ever felt you were living in a desert? I sure have and I never want to go back to those times. This verse says that our isolation in the desert came out of our rebellious nature. Those are not easy words to hear but for me it was true. When I relaxed into my relationship with God and ceased striving and toiling for everything, including hearing His voice, then I began to find a new relationship with Him. My effort and self-reliance separated me from Him. I tried so hard but finding is easy when you stop trying and simply open your eyes. He is right there, I promise, but we build such walls around ourselves that our perceptions become numb and His voice muted.

God created this entire planet, everything on it and even the solar system in which it revolves just so He could have a family. He didn’t create deserts for His children. Deserts exist in our lives when we do not allow Him to pour His living water into us. They are of our own making. He gave us Eden and we turned it into a desert. Here is the good news, though. We have the same power to renew Eden into the glorious garden of our heart where we can, and do, walk with God in the cool of the evening.

I pray that this Christmas season, you find new connections with your Divine Father and that those bonds lead you to increased relations with others so that you will never experience loneliness again. I pray that the joy of God’s heart will be reverberate in yours this season. When we connect with Yahweh in the way He intended, we never will feel alone again. Happy Holidays!

Meaning in Omnipresence

Psalm 139: 7

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence.

We commonly accept that God is omnipresent, existing everywhere at once. If you want a scriptural basis for this concept you wouldn’t go wrong with today’s verse. God’s omnipresence can mean many things for you. If you have been lonely, know that He is with you always. It might help someone else avoid sin knowing that God will witness it. I want to take you to a different place today but in keeping with the thoughts and ideas from yesterday’s examination of Romans 12: 1.

I believe that when we think of God being everywhere we often imagine Him in the empty spaces of our environment. Think about where you are right now. Do you imagine God is somewhere in the room or everywhere in the room? Does He fill all the space where there is nothing else: no furniture, people, computers, lamps, etc.? I would like to explore another idea.

Let’s think about your body. Are you porous or non-porous? We are porous right, meaning that we have pores and are therefore, absorbent.  Body lotions would have little effect if we couldn’t absorb them into our skin. Now imagine yourself surrounded by the Holy Spirit of God. Can you absorb Him? Think of the inside of your body. We know that the Holy Spirit now resides within us; God has made His abode within us as His new temple. Where does He live? Do you imagine empty places within you which the Spirit occupies?

I would like to propose another idea. Imagine the Holy Spirit of God being absorbed into your tissues, your molecules and even the atoms that make up every fiber of your body. Do you have an injury? Suppose you had a back injury. We learned yesterday to give our bodies to God and even to make our gifts specific so give Him your back and then invite Him to fill your back with His presence. He is omnipresent. He exists everywhere, not just where other things are not. See God insinuating Himself into every muscle fiber, every bone, all cartilage, tissue and fluid in your back. Think of that. See the Holy Spirit indwelling your spinal column, filling you with His radiant power and glory. This is the radiation treatment we need, the Holy Spirit indwelling every fiber of our being right down to the smallest sub-atomic particle.

He is the life (John 14: 6), so the more we allow ourselves to be filled up with Him the more we are filled with life. It makes perfect sense doesn’t it? Jesus said he came to give us abundant life (John 10: 10). He also said that He and the Father would come and make their abode with us (John 14: 23). Then doesn’t it just make sense that allowing them to fill us is going to be a life-giving proposition?  But I have one caveat. I would not suggest this is a once and for all prayer. We ought to be praying this every day over our bodies. What I have found is that as I grow spiritually I find additional ways to allow the Father to fill me more. I also, unfortunately, discover places that I have not allowed Him to indwell even though I thought I gave all. We have sentries posted that we have forgotten about. Some of them have been there for a long time. As you retire the sentries and allow God into those barred rooms and spaces you will always experience new life and renewed life.

So, allow God’s omnipresence to be more than God with you. He is with you, around you and in you. Let this revelation comfort you and work healing in your body.