Words Creating Space

Our first Lenten post spoke about our desire for our readers to have a more wondrous view of God, a view that is overwhelmed by His magnificence so that you yearn to be in relationship with Him in a deep and meaningful way.  God longs to be in relationship with us, to complete us in a way nothing earthly can.  He wants to enable each of us to embody His specific purposes for our lives, and to live out His intentions for us as His followers, with no holds barred.  And His patience with us in building relationship and seeking guidance as to our calling is, thankfully, endless!     

But how do we start to connect more deeply?  We start by leaning into His presence and acknowledging it.  That acknowledgment recognizes He alone is responsible for our very being.  His transcendence is over all of me—all of the time.  God doesn’t take a break, a nap, a vacation, catch some shuteye, clock out, or hit snooze.  And He’s not only present in this moment, the here and now, but He is also present where we are going—off to college, entering into the commitment of marriage, an interview, relocation, a Sunday church service, in grief, a difficult conversation, a tragic situation, a stressful job, or in something as simple as going out to lunch.   

In this season of Lent, we seek focused time attuned to God’s presence and reflecting on Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, setting the stage for the sanctification and redemption that are assured to us as an Easter people.  Writing and speaking that last sentence seems so feeble for the eternal impact of the actions that the words describe!  “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21).  He took our place on that cross to save us, so that we would be an eternally forgiven people!

In recognition of Lent, some people choose to abstain from something, or to proactively do something they were not doing before, which allows them to focus more intently on God and depend on His strength. These practices open the way to better grasp what salvation means through what Jesus did on the cross for us and to grow closer to God.  For me, yes, I have in the past given up desserts, made a stepped-up exercise plan, gotten to bed earlier—all well and good.  And even this year I told myself I was giving up chocolate and bread—and those things are going OK depending on how restrictively “bread” can be defined:-) I also committed to trying to write every day, but please don’t ask me how that is going! 

But, honestly, finding that space, that margin, for this focused time has been challenging for me these 40 days.  Due to my current season of life, which is a joyful yet crazy flurry of activity in planning for a child getting married, what I have found most needful yet challenging in this moment is practicing God’s presence – being wholly present with Him.  In this scattered, distracted state in which I find myself, I am disheartened that my daily communion for deepening the relationship is harder to find.  However, the deeper realization is that God’s presence is not dependent on how well my Lenten journey is going.  He meets me just where I am, 24/7.

God’s steadfast presence, and the provision found there, helps us when we struggle with heartrending situations like what we’ve found ourselves in with the school shooting in Nashville. In practicing God’s presence, we train ourselves to watch for His power even here.  St. Thomas Aquinas said, “God is so powerful that He can direct any evil to a good end.”  As our busy schedules have the potential to choke out our recognition of God’s presence, so does the presence of utter evil in our world.  These conditions threaten to starve our souls and make us desperate to experience God and His peace. I think we will find as we form habits of making space for God, there will be more and more of ourselves reserved for His presence, and the solace found there, even as we experience distracted, over-scheduled and often profoundly sad and dark times. 

God is inviting us into His Presence, into relationship.  He can be none other than who He is—no pretense, no façade.  And that’s how real He wants us to be with Him—to come into His presence holding nothing back (Psalm 40:9 – “I’ve kept back nothing, God” (The Message)).  In that loving presence is provision of what we need in each moment—grace and mercy, comfort and strength, peace.