December 5 - my Rock

The sun decided to come out today. We grabbed our winter gear and ran out to the beach the moment we woke up. It was too beautiful to miss. It's funny how I don't jump out of bed when it's cloudy and wet. My feet drag, I hit my snooze button on my alarm, and I settle myself into a more comfortable position. A few more minutes won't matter, I reason, I won't miss much.

And yet I do miss much. I miss moments with Jesus, the Son of God. I miss precious moments in His presence. In exchange for a few extra minutes of sleep? I love praying when I'm outside and I can look far into the distance. That doesn't happen very often for a city dweller. I am pondering a problem that arose today, something that requires fixing but I don't know how to do that! There's a large rock on this beach that many people travel from far away to come and see. This rock rises 50 feet from the ground, and is an amazing sight to see. It's rounded edges tell of the sea's waves that have washed over it, and the wind's might over the years. It would provide some pretty good shelter from a storm. I am reminded of my Rock. The One who has stood since before time began. The One who created the beauty all around me. The One who is with me today, moment by moment. As Jacob exclaimed in Genesis 28 after his dream, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." So often I turn to the issue at hand, the problem that needs solving and I turn it into a task to do. I need a greater awareness of the Lord's presence. I must run to the One who is my Rock and let Him hide and protect me.

Lord, grant me greater awareness of your presence. It seems that I forget that Reality and I live in a temporal reality among things that are changing, inconsistent, and unstable. I cling to worthless things when I've been given You to cling to. You are with me. To know that is to really live. 

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