Which of the following costs the most?
A dream vacation trip to the Bahamas?
A tank of gas for your car?
A glass of water?
Or air?
Now, different question: which is the most valuable? If you’re drowning under the surface of water, you’re not particularly interested in taking a vacation at that moment, nor are you going anywhere in your car or needing a drink of water. You’re desperate for just one thing: AIR! Strange how air is completely free, yet so incredibly valuable.
A dream vacation may well be on the top of your list of important things to do, especially if you’re weary and worn down from your day to day existence. A well-timed and well-planned vacation can do wonders to obtain fresh energy and rejuvenation so we can face life. In fact, it’s similar to filling your car up with gas. When you’ve run out of fuel, all you need to do is pull into a gas station and fill up and you’re good to go again! A vacation may refuel you, so you can face life for another year or two – although your car, of course, will need refueling much sooner than that.
On average, I fill up my gas tank about once a week. But let’s think for a minute about our need for water. It’s definitely a priority – more valuable than a vacation or a tank of gas, yet it’s much more accessible to those of us in America. It’s a basic need and we require water to refuel are bodies far more often than once a week! At the bare minimum, we need water at least once a day! If we never get a vacation or acquire a tank-full of gas, we will not perish, however, water is essential. You can go a day without water, but you can’t go more than a week (unless you are under miraculous conditions!)
Now here’s the thing: as important as water is, air is more-so. Most people cannot go for more than 8 minutes without oxygen before serious brain and heart damage occurs at which point, death is imminent. We typically take breathing for granted, until of course, our breathing is restricted and then we can think of nothing else except getting that next breath! We depend upon it, moment by moment, breathing in the free and abundant blessing of air, enjoying its enormous benefits as it supplies our entire physical being with necessary oxygen so that we can go on with life, moment by moment.
(Ok, Kath – time to get to the point. :) Now, let us consider the blessing of (and needful) encounters with the Presence of God. Those times when all life stands still, and we are freshly washed in a wave of glory as God touches our souls with His breath and transforms our lives. We love those special moments, when our awareness of God’s nearness and the tangible sense of His presence overwhelm us. We revel at the altar, receiving fresh grace when it seems the pressures of life fade while the reality of God’s closeness restores our soul. But I wonder, do I only look for those moments like a rare vacation, or a refueling once a week at a church service, or even a daily tall drink of His presence (aka morning devotions)? Or do I realize that when the veil of the Holy of Holies was torn at the death of our Savior, that He actually meant for us to GO into the Very Presence of our most Holy God and live and move and have our being every moment of every day?
Perhaps you were told at one point in your life, as I was, that you “can’t live on the mountaintop all the time because it’s not reality.” I guess I’m here to gently challenge that thinking. Maybe the Lord wants us to reevaluate what we call “reality” and consider that His Kingdom IS our reality and His Presence can be our constant expectation. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m aware that there are ebbs and flows of life and circumstances and sometimes we are more aware of God’s presence than at other times – I’m just not sure He’s always the one who is “ebbing” :), as if He doesn’t want us to get too caught up in the wonder of His glory. From what I understand of scripture, and the plan of salvation, I believe we can anticipate that through the cross, we have full access to the very presence of God every moment of every day, kind of like air! And if He obtained that for us, at such an exorbitant cost, even though it’s free to us, then perhaps it is as necessary as the very air we breathe! Sometimes I think we try to suck it up and live life until the next conference rolls around – like a Bahaman vacation – so we can refuel in God’s presence to go out and face the world again for another year. (for the record, I really appreciate Christian conferences!) Or perhaps we “tank up” on God at our weekly church services, hoping that the sense of His presence will hang on through the course of the whole week.
Honestly, my need for God’s presence seems to increase day by day. I am currently desperate for His presence far more often than once a year or once a week – even more than once a day! But I confess that sometimes I will try to live with less, because rather than seeing His presence as a basic need of the soul, I sometimes think I can get by on yesterday's manna. That's the equivalent of choosing to fast from breathing for a couple of days. It doesn't make sense in light of the fact that He provided access to His presence through His sacrifice every single moment of the rest of my life! I believe, based upon the truth of God’s word that we can fully anticipate the abundant provision of that which we need most: His very presence! Maybe the Lord means for those of us who are called His very own children to actually live in the place of His presence, rather than just visit every so often. Maybe we as His sons & daughters need to believe by faith that His door has swung wide open, and His invitation is fully extended to us to run into His loving arms, and find complete rest in His glorious embrace! Tell me, is it possible to live in the awareness of God’s presence, while still living the everyday life He has given us?
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” Ephesians 2:13 & 18
