My hope is that this blog will be a conduit for conversation between you and me, between you and others, and most importantly, between you and God. Experience has shown me that my best conversations with the Lord and with others come coupled with the stillness of morning and a cup of coffee. Whatever your experience has been, I hope you will join me as I share what God puts on my heart.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

In quietness is your strength.


How sweet are those moments when we experience God’s presence in a tremendous way.  It is not that God is more real, more present, more engaging during those moments.  It is that we are more aware.
I want this communion with our Lord more often.  I want this for you.
I notice that my awareness is intensified when I am quiet before our Lord.  By quiet, it is not that we never speak; for often, we lament; we praise; we plead; we seek; we intercede.  By quiet, it is that we are fully engaged; it is that we are seeking to quiet all else besides God’s voice; it is that we are listening restfully to our Lord.
Stillness in our environment is uncommon.  Deliberate stillness in our environment is even more uncommon.  But the more we experience the Lord’s presence in such an intense, undisturbed way, the more we hunger to experience the Lord.
I pray the Lord fills you with the desire to be still before Him.  
I encourage you to be intentional about exercising quietness.   And it is not always fun.  And sometimes it is grueling.  But this practice of denying all other things besides our Lord is good.   And you will experience Christ in a more keen way.  
We are inundated with stimuli that dull our awareness of the Lord’s presence.  Deliberate stillness will sharpen our communion with Christ.  The more we practice quietness before Christ, the easier it will become. 
I pray we become acutely aware of God’s presence—our Lord is everywhere.  I pray we exercise deliberate stillness before our Lord.  I pray our distractions decrease, and our communion with God increases.  Praise God that we can always experience Him in a deeper way. 
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  (Psalm 46:10 NIV).
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”  (Lamentations 3:26, 27 NIV).
“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it….’”  (Isaiah 30:15 NIV).




And sometimes it's a drink-a-full-pot-of-coffee-by-yourself-kind-of-day.  For those of us who are still trick-or-treating in our adult years, please put on another pot.   
Much love to you,
Paige