As one who has walked through many seasons of war and has been under spiritual attack so fiercely in this last season, I have learned one thing that is crucial to victory…to lock eyes with God.
The times when I feel as if all may be lost and I just might not make it through, are the times when I realize that I’ve lost eye contact with God. Just like Peter on the water, I must maintain full and focused eye contact with the Father, if I’m to make it through life’s battles unscathed.
I lock eyes with Him in a storm. I lock eyes with Him when I’m at a crossroads. I lock eyes with Him when I wake up in the morning, because He knows that every day, I need Him.
He is there.
Every morning, every evening, all day long. He’s there when I lay down and when I rise. He’s there when I’m high and when I’m low. He’s there when I succeed and when I fail. I can choose to lock eyes with Him at all times.
Can you feel Him right now? I suddenly am very aware of His abiding presence in the room right now. I hope you can feel it too, wherever you are. He is offering you an opportunity. A chance to move toward a deeper connection with His heart. Will you accept?
As He moves toward me, my heart stirs. His Presence is exciting and peaceful all at the same time. Can you feel it? He extends His hand to me, and I place my hand in His. I accept His invitation. Will you?
I’ve learned that so many things about God are presented as invitations. As a Gentleman, He always asks. Invites. Waits. Stands attentive.
I didn’t plan for this devotional to go this way, but as I kept pressing in, all I could think about, see and hear was Him inviting you into something more. Do you want more?
I long to be like Enoch. I long to walk so closely with Him daily, that one day I’m just whisked away with Him. Don’t you?
It all starts with these invitations. Opportunities to move closer to Him. Opportunities to draw near. Choices. Life is full of them. This one is most important.
It’s always in God’s heart to bless us, it’s us that are not always poised to receive.
Let that sink in.
It is us that sometimes are unable to receive a good thing. I’ve been pondering this for months. I’ve been intentionally posturing my heart to be receptive to the blessings. This can be hard when you’ve had a lot of disappointment. But I’ve been striving to return to the original place of joyful expectation. When I first entered into the deeper places of God, I expected good things to come. I watched so many doors open. Then it was time for me to mature, and the way God does that is through walking us through the trials of life. We must guard our hearts in these times, lest we forget His goodness. He allows the trials to mature us, so we are complete and lacking nothing. But in the midst of the trial, we must still lock eyes with Him and remember His goodness. Remember what it feels like to be blessed.
Today, imagine yourself leaning back on the Father. Let Him wrap His arms around you and pull you tight. Then look up. Do you see them? His eyes. What reflection do you see in them? It’s always something beautiful and lovely…it’s you!
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock- the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land He is giving you. The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity- in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground- in the land He swore to your forefathers to give you. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Deuteronomy 28:3-13
365 Days in the Presence 