I am, in many ways, a creature of habit. If I can find a rhythm that works, I will stick with it. On our walks, we always walk the same way. Every time. Luna knows when to turn. I think, by the end of Starburst’s life, she could have walked herself, actually I know she could have. Anyway! Not going there today. On the walk there is a house with kids and one day I saw them tying a giant bear (like three feet tall) into the tall tree. And there it stayed, until Saturday morning.
All of a sudden, at 6:10am (yes, the neighbors love us) Luna burst out barking, the sinister bark. The “I could eat you alive, but am making good choices” bark. Ahh, the bear had fallen out of the tree. Luna was terrified. Of course, I knew that it was nothing. She did not. We walked closer and closer to the smelly, mildewy bear, barf, and she was backing up as I got to the bear. Would not go near it. So I picked her up and brought her to the feared object. She sniffed it deeply. Barf. And realized it was nothing but a smelly, stuffed, bear. We walked on.
Now, on our way back from our adventures in the park, she saw the bear AGAIN! And this time, she glanced at the offensive smell and walked on. Not giving it another thought.
Luna would have run from the bear if I let her. I knew that wasn’t what was best for her anxious, little heart. The stuffed bear was scary, but she needed to know that I wasn’t going to leave her alone. We faced it together.
If that doesn’t preach to my heart…
This morning I was reminded of the little book by Brother Lawrence, “Practicing the Presence of God.” I am never alone. Never. His presence is with me. His Presence is my answer. I’m on the hunt for the truth of this statement in Scripture.
***Side note. When we hear teaching or read, do we fact check with Scripture? Let’s do it.
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.”
Psalms 139:1-10 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.139.2-10.NASB1995
When David realizes the truth of God’s presence, he worships. He wonders. He is in awe. God is here. Right now, look around your room, take a deep breath and declare that God is here. Right now. God is with me, wherever I go.
This is a YouTube video that I found describing a practice of meditation on Scripture. I have been practicing this with my all time favorite app, Dwell. I was so excited when our pastor led us through Lectio Divina recently. So much of my thought life can go places quickly that I do not want to go. My thought life matters as much as my public life (thank you for that reminder today, Janice. 🙂 )
“but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/2co.3.16-18.NASB1995
So much here! Okay, first, I remember in Philippians where Paul speaks of the Spirit of Christ:
“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Philippians 1:18-20 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/php.1.18-20.NASB1995
And where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. There is freedom. Meaning, if I have the Spirit of the Lord in me, I am free. So, then I ask the question, why do I keep walking back into the chains of fear and worry? The Spirit is transforming me into the image of the glory of the Lord. I am being transformed.
Oooo, this is where the rubber meets the road in my mind. I am reminded of Joshua’s search for a job, my dad’s dementia and the future (not in my control) ramifications of “what if” in both circumstances. Or my migraines and fibromyalgia. Yet, if I’m practicing the presence of God, my next thought, dear God, help this be my next thought!
“So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:8, 32-34 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.6.8-34.NASB1995
My Father knows what I need even before I ask Him. But Cara, you say, what if?
“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”
Philippians 1:27-30 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/php.1.27-30.NASB1995
I say to you, draw your community around you to remind you of God’s faithfulness. His goodness. That just as Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms during the battle when he would grow tired, so our community does this for us. We hold one another up when one grows weary and tired. Remind one another of faith, its definition. Remind one another to believe. When one suffers, we all suffer.
“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”
1 Corinthians 12:26 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/1co.12.26.NASB1995
And may our testimony declare to a broken world that God is with us. He is for us. He will never leave us. His Presence is our answer. Always.
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