As I was reading this a.m. in my quiet time I was struck by the contrasting character of God: He is near; ready for us to come to Him and sit at His feet much like Mary did OR He is compared to a lion coming out of his lair after being awakened, He is full of fierce anger. Why is God angry? He is angry at sin, that which separates us from His presence. But, God is also a patient God waiting on us to see HIM and to come to HIM and be bathed in His presence. But why is this so hard for us?
Waiting is hard as we live in a society that fosters movement rather than quietness. Often I think back to the summers when I was a kid. I had many tasks to do each day, thanks to an ever disciplined and manager Mother, but one thing she encouraged was for us to read. There was no TV, no email, no cell phones (only the party line and that was scary...you never knew who was listening or even might interrupt your "private" conversation). But the afternoons when it was hot, NOTE: no pool...no lakes in close proximity...you sat under a tree or in your bedroom high in your palace in the sky,and you read voraciously. You lived life virtually but you didn't call it that for that is 21st century word. You imagined and you pretended and you thought what it must be like to be Nancy Drew or another story character like Prince Valiant. I guess I am dating myself here for all you young ones :-) But, in reality you were learning to wait as you took time to "sit a spell" and just get lost in a book. Now as I am older I still "sit a spell" and I read voraciously but now my reading is in God's Word as I live life virtually; I visualize David in his running, Bathsheba in her dilemma, Jeremiah as he faces depression, Deborah as she questions Barak and Ruth as she humbly follows Naomi home to Bethlehem not knowing what lay ahead. Yes, waiting is a good thing for it teaches us to experience the nearness of God as it says in Ps 62:5, or wonder what the fierce anger of God towards sin must be like.Jer 25:38 (my reading for today).I hope I never have to experience that~~!!! , the loving character of God John 3:16. And then in my time of waiting I begin to meditate upon Him...He is Almighty, He is Beautiful, He is the Compassionate Christ, He is my Deliverer, He is the Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, HE is HOLY. I do that until I have gone through the alphabet down to the letter "z" and I see him as the Zealous One who desires my purity and righteousness and one who is patiently waiting on me to be quiet so that He might reveal His next step. Yes, waiting is a good thing....for it brings us to the beautiful place with and near God and into His presence.
Here is a chorus that sums it up beautifully:
In the presence of Jehovah, God Almighty, Prince of Peace; Troubles vanish, hearts are mended, in the presence of the King...
