Rear-view or Full-view?
And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; they wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain! God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!
(Psalm 84:5-7)
Some of us may have God in our rear-view mirror right now. It is like we look up one day and realize that he isn't in front of us any longer - we aren't following him as closely as we were at one time. Sometimes that is a result of us taking our focus off him, while at others it is more of us having drifted into just doing things by rote. We read the Word, but it is because it is habit - we aren't really getting much out of it. We say a few prayers, but it is also out of habit - we aren't really expressing our heart or listening to his. Ever start out on a journey and find yourself there, almost unaware of the twists and turns you took to get there? We all have roads we travel so frequently, we could drift into a state of total day-dreaming and still get to our destination without even noticing how we got there! The ability of reaching the destination time and time again is really based on how frequently we "travel" the same path. The more we travel it, the more every twist and turn becomes something we maneuver through with ease - oftentimes even without much thought. Have you ever considered the paths you travel with God in this manner - with frequency, but not with much thought?
When God "travels" the roads of our hearts with a frequency, we find we are on roads leading to some of the choicest destinations we could experience in life. Places like peaceful springs of his everlasting life, abundant fields of choice fruit, and lush valleys of perfect rest. I liked this illustration of "familiarity" with God - our lives like roads he travels. To me, this speaks of more than the frequency of passage - well-known by both of us. He travels in our "space" and we in his - not just passing by, but actually entering into our space. The only difference between our "mindless" travels from one point to another in a day-dreaming mode is our active participation in his "traveling" the roads of our lives. God doesn't impose himself upon us, but he does ask for us to pay attention. Those places God "frequents" in our lives are the very places we need to experience his presence and touch the most. Did you ever consider the places God seems to "frequent" in your life as "purposefully" frequented - planned out time and place that God has created just for the revelation that comes by beholding him in 'full view'? Take a moment to consider just one "place" God seems to 'end up' in your life - those places you sense his watchfulness and care over right now. It may be in the area of your emotions, your thoughts, or even him passing through the 'space' of your spoken words. In these very areas, he hopes to create lush valleys of his rest, abundant fields of the very best fruit, and springs of life galore - but we have to be attentive to his work within us! God doesn't belong in the rear-view mirror!
God-traveled lives are "affected" lives. We cannot have the passage of God's presence without the corresponding effect of his presence. It is impossible to be "touched" by God and not bear some evidence of his touch. The very frequency by which he "touches" certain "paths" in our lives is evidence of how much he wants to makes an impact in those very areas we may not even know he is desiring to travel with us. The impact may be subtle at first, but in time, the evidence of his passage will be clear to all who look upon us. We live blessed lives - simply because of the "travels" of God in our lives. We are also blessed to have a God who "travels" the same paths in us until we are affected by his passage in those areas. Even if we don't realize he is traveling the same path time and time again, we oftentimes can see the destination he is preparing us to reach. I have traveled many places, but some I know much better than others. Those places I have only visited once or twice are not well-known to me. There are no landmarks I recall with ease. Those places I travel frequently have a familiarity to them indicate the frequency of travel! God's desire is to travel our lives with such frequency so as to have our lives bespeak his travels! So, the next time you look up and realize God isn't in front of you any longer, look in the rear-view for a moment. Is he there? If so, isn't it about time you get him back in 'full-view' again? Just askin!
Some of us may have God in our rear-view mirror right now. It is like we look up one day and realize that he isn't in front of us any longer - we aren't following him as closely as we were at one time. Sometimes that is a result of us taking our focus off him, while at others it is more of us having drifted into just doing things by rote. We read the Word, but it is because it is habit - we aren't really getting much out of it. We say a few prayers, but it is also out of habit - we aren't really expressing our heart or listening to his. Ever start out on a journey and find yourself there, almost unaware of the twists and turns you took to get there? We all have roads we travel so frequently, we could drift into a state of total day-dreaming and still get to our destination without even noticing how we got there! The ability of reaching the destination time and time again is really based on how frequently we "travel" the same path. The more we travel it, the more every twist and turn becomes something we maneuver through with ease - oftentimes even without much thought. Have you ever considered the paths you travel with God in this manner - with frequency, but not with much thought?
When God "travels" the roads of our hearts with a frequency, we find we are on roads leading to some of the choicest destinations we could experience in life. Places like peaceful springs of his everlasting life, abundant fields of choice fruit, and lush valleys of perfect rest. I liked this illustration of "familiarity" with God - our lives like roads he travels. To me, this speaks of more than the frequency of passage - well-known by both of us. He travels in our "space" and we in his - not just passing by, but actually entering into our space. The only difference between our "mindless" travels from one point to another in a day-dreaming mode is our active participation in his "traveling" the roads of our lives. God doesn't impose himself upon us, but he does ask for us to pay attention. Those places God "frequents" in our lives are the very places we need to experience his presence and touch the most. Did you ever consider the places God seems to "frequent" in your life as "purposefully" frequented - planned out time and place that God has created just for the revelation that comes by beholding him in 'full view'? Take a moment to consider just one "place" God seems to 'end up' in your life - those places you sense his watchfulness and care over right now. It may be in the area of your emotions, your thoughts, or even him passing through the 'space' of your spoken words. In these very areas, he hopes to create lush valleys of his rest, abundant fields of the very best fruit, and springs of life galore - but we have to be attentive to his work within us! God doesn't belong in the rear-view mirror!
God-traveled lives are "affected" lives. We cannot have the passage of God's presence without the corresponding effect of his presence. It is impossible to be "touched" by God and not bear some evidence of his touch. The very frequency by which he "touches" certain "paths" in our lives is evidence of how much he wants to makes an impact in those very areas we may not even know he is desiring to travel with us. The impact may be subtle at first, but in time, the evidence of his passage will be clear to all who look upon us. We live blessed lives - simply because of the "travels" of God in our lives. We are also blessed to have a God who "travels" the same paths in us until we are affected by his passage in those areas. Even if we don't realize he is traveling the same path time and time again, we oftentimes can see the destination he is preparing us to reach. I have traveled many places, but some I know much better than others. Those places I have only visited once or twice are not well-known to me. There are no landmarks I recall with ease. Those places I travel frequently have a familiarity to them indicate the frequency of travel! God's desire is to travel our lives with such frequency so as to have our lives bespeak his travels! So, the next time you look up and realize God isn't in front of you any longer, look in the rear-view for a moment. Is he there? If so, isn't it about time you get him back in 'full-view' again? Just askin!
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