“You are of this world; I am not of this world.” (John 8:23 NIV)
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” (Heb 12:2 NIV)
As I sat on my bed, pondering the words of a book that I was reading, my mind began to drift to another place. It was soon clear that this place was far away from my earthly home, and as my thoughts continued to lift, I suddenly felt myself in the presence of God. I was immediately overcome by brightness-His brightness-to the extent that I couldn’t clearly perceive the beauty of His face. There was nothing for me to do but to throw myself down on the holy ground and give honor to my God and King. As I did so, I could hear the vibrant noise of falling waters and the gentle swishing of birds’ wings as they circled high overhead, and I was filled with peace that surpasses all comprehension.
Suddenly, a voice resonated through my head, and I had the feeling that I was being hugged: “Why have you waited so long to visit me, my beloved one?”
I felt ashamed. Suddenly all of those earthly concerns that had taken up so much of my time didn’t seem to matter. All that mattered was that I was in the presence of the Holy One, the One who truly loved me. “I am so sorry,” I stumbled, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I seem to have lost my way on planet Earth. I-I guess I just got too absorbed in the concerns of life!”
“Why didn’t you come to Me?” Asked the tender voice. “I would have helped you!”
Immediately, the following text came to my mind: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28 NIV); and I realized that one of my greatest weaknesses lie in NOT entrusting God with all of my troubles, concerns and challenges. Where was my faith?
Again I was made aware that once in the presence of the One who truly loves me, my “monstrous” problems looked pretty insignificant. Why had I tried to tackle them on my own, without even once thinking of giving them to my Heavenly Daddy? Why, oh why had I been so filled with myself? Why had I worried about them at all? Where was my faith when I really needed it?
But God was awaiting an answer to His question, and the only one I could stumble out was: “I don’t know, Lord! I don’t know why I didn’t come to You! I’m so sorry. Please forgive my lack of faith!”
“I will always be there for you, My child. Never hesitate to come to Me. I will make your burdens light. I will turn those monstrous problems into mountains of opportunities. Just trust Me.”
At the words, “trust Me”, I turned away in shame. Despite the fact that I belong to God, I had been placing my trust in such unworthy things. Why had it taken me such a long time to come back to His dwelling place; to the place where I am filled with love, awe and inner peace? Why did it always take me so long to come back to where I truly belong?
Turning my thoughts back to my world, I was reminded for a third time how insignificant the things that I’d been filling my time with really were. If only I could remember to look at my dilemmas and challenges from God’s view! “Lord, remind me to constantly keep my eyes on you in all things,” I whispered.
“I do my child, however the rush of life keeps you from hearing my voice. Remember: ‘Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.’ (Ps 27:14 NIV). I will always be there for you!”
I suddenly snapped out of my reverie, and I found myself back in my bedroom. Disappointment flooded over me. Why had I waited so long to be in the presence of my Heavenly Father?
It was clear to me now that there were indeed two different worlds: The one I lived in, which seemed to absorb all of my attention; and the one filled with peace, where I could view everything from God’s viewpoint. Doesn’t the Bible teach that we are “seated” with Christ? “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…” (Eph 2:6 NIV)
I made a resolution right then and there to stop neglecting the God-given opportunities to spend time with Him. After all, why should I continue to live a life of stress and anxiety, when I can be in the presence of the One who fills me with love and inner peace?
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor 10:3-5 NIV)
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom 12:2 NIV)
The invitation stands for all of us: “‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Rev 22:17 NIV)
What are we waiting for?
Rob Chaffart