This morning I was blessed with the opportunity to spend an extended amount of time with my Savior. In Navigators they call it ETAWG, which stands for Extended Time Alone With God. So we set aside about 2.5 hours this morning to have an extended quiet time. That much time can sound intimidating; I was initially worried that I would not know what to do with that much time but I have grown to love my time and sometimes do not even feel like it is enough. I definitely felt like God spoke to me this morning and hit my heart so I thought I would share my revelations.
I so often go to the scriptures looking at it through a lens of what can I personally get out of it and how can I apply it to my life. I look at it through the lens of the human author and often forget that God is present in every word. I have been encouraged to look at scripture in a different light, to look at it for what those verses say about God’s characteristics and what he values. This morning I meditated on Psalm 23 but instead of looking at it through the lens of the human author I rewrote it as if God were literally talking to me, who is God saying he is in this psalm? Psalm 23 says, as originally written:
‘The Lord is my shepard, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’
This is what I wrote as if Psalm 23 was written by God’s hand:
‘Beloved, I am the good shepard; I take away all your wants and desires. Child, I calm and quiet your soul as I lead you. As I lead, I begin to restore your soul and make it new. David, I desire you to walk in righteousness and eagerly want to guide you along that journey. Do not fear evil or even death because I am always with you. I have already conquered evil and death for you. I will comfort you and protect you from harm. I will protect you from harm by pulling you close to my side; walk with me child. In the presence of adversaries I will protect you; come to the table and commune with me. Beloved child, you are an heir to my throne. Commune with me and you will be satisfied. Come and dwell in my house beloved. I will never cease loving you and showing goodness to you all the days of your life. David, come and be with me for I will fully satisfy.’
As I begin to look at scripture in this light I really begin to see the heart of God. We are in the midst of his love story. God truly loves us and wants be with to be with us so bad. We cannot comprehend how much he loves us. We truly serve an amazing God.
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Later on, I was provided with the verse Isaiah 30:21 which says, “whether you turn right or left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’” I cannot help but smile when I read that. We serve a real God who loves us and directs us! He is alive and speaks to us…are we taking time to listen for his whispers?
As I began to pray through this verse I begin to realize that there is no way for me to fall away from God because he is at every turn. That kind of steadfast love is incomprehensible. During this time I felt God speaking to me and this is what he said, “This is the way David, follow my voice and footsteps. I will walk with you and be by your side. I will never ever leave you for you are my beloved. No matter your actions you will not fall out of my love. David, do you get it…I LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT! Whether you had never sinned or are the worst of sinners I love you the same. All I want is to see you opening your heart and giving yourself to me. Please do not hide from me anymore. It breaks my heart when you are burdened with guilt and shame. Do you not realize that I choose to forget your sins, why can you not do the same? David, I love you unconditionally. You are my child yesterday, today, and tomorrow. My arms are constantly open for you. Come and sit on my lap so that I can comfort you. David, please stop living in the midst of your sin. I so badly want you to realize you are a new creation. Do you not get that, YOU ARE A NEW CREATION! No longer are you titled sinner, so STOP living under that title. David, you are my beloved and I love you. How badly do I want you to realize that! I don’t care about your past. I don’t care about the bad and even the good. I don’t care about all the sinful acts and righteous acts you have done. I love you all the same. Please come to me David. Daily I call out to you, ‘Love me David.’ Even if I do not feel your love, my love stays constant. My son, I want you to know I am always here for you and I am full of compassion and love. I am forgiving. Come David, live within my grace!”
Coming to the realization that I am in the middle of living out a love story with God is amazing. His love is so hard to try and wrap my mind around me. No matter my actions he loves me all the same! Why would you not want to serve a God like that? He loves even those that hate him. He loves me the same as he loves those that curse him, those that abuse others, and those that live denying his existence. Due to this love, DO NOT LIVE IN YOUR SIN! God chooses to not remember your sin. Through the blood of Jesus on the cross we are cleansed and purified. Please realize that God does not want us to be burdened with our sins for Christ died to take away that burden. We are dead to sin, so STOP living a life that says otherwise. God is daily calling us to live out who we already are: holy and cleansed children of God.
Bottom line: Child, you are forgiven and LOVED! Now live in the midst of our Fathers Love!
