Decked Out in Delight

Showers...I am convinced they have super powers...how is it that a simple shower seems to bring some of the most amazing revelations??

A few nights ago I was just PRAISING God for the gloriously hot running water coming out of my shower head.  Don't cha just looove a hot shower??  I enjoy it so much every night that I never wanna get out of it...ever!!  If I could just stay under that constant warm water for the rest of my life and have hubby bring me food and drink, I think I would be happy forever!  It's such a routine thing (well, for most), but it brings so much joy and relaxation to my evening! While I was endlessly and strategically rotating the cold areas of my body under that almost-burn-your-skin-off hot water I got to thinking about how God wants to shower us in His presence... He wants us to cast our burdens onto Him so that He can wash away our anxieties and worries, soothe our frantic minds, and loosen the tight grip that the world tends to get on us without us even realizing it sometimes.  I want to look forward to receiving God's presence like I look forward to that hot shower at the end of the day.  I want to intensely desire God and seek Him out with all of my heart and strength, because God welcomes those who seek Him and He promises to be found by those who seek Him with all of their heart and understanding (Jeremiah 29:13).  Check this out, Psalm 5:12 in The Message Version says, "You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight."  I love that! At the beginning of that same passage it says that, "He who lives in the safe place of the Most High will be in the shadow of the All-powerful....He will cover you with His wings.  And under His wings you will be safe.  He is faithful like a safe-covering and a strong-wall."  It's give me such confidence to know that I serve and belong to a God whom I can trust, who NO BODY on this Earth or down below could even get close to touching, much less defeating...and that same God has got me protected...sheltered under His wing.  Nothing can touch me as long as I'm living in that safe place, under that constant running water that is the presence of Jesus.  Sometimes I step out of it a little...like, I've got my arm under the water but my head is out in the world trying to get satisfaction or confidence in the things of the world, and all it's doing is getting colder and colder and I'm not receiving what I need from the world...and then I look back at my arm that's all nice and toasty and realize that I'm so silly for stepping out the hot water...I mean really...you'd think I'd learn that outside of God's presence and Jesus in my life I'm not going to be fulfilled and I'm not going to accomplish anything fruitful.  But for some reason I keep on forgetting...

   ....I believe it's because I'm not abiding in Christ.  John 15:5-6 says, "I am the vine [this is Jesus]; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers;"

Making my abode (or, home) in Christ has always seemed so mysterious to me...  But thinking about it in terms of my own home...I nourish myself with food and drink; I pick up messes every day and try to make sure it's clean by the evening; It's the first thing I wake up and see in the morning and the last thing I see before I sleep; I store my possessions in it...etc.  Just like in my own home, I think I could nourish my relationship with Jesus by meditating on His word day and night and memorizing His scripture daily.  I should examine myself of any sins I committed and ask for forgiveness for them and then turn away from them ("cleaning my house").  I should talk to God (aka, pray!)...invest myself into Him by telling him my thoughts, feelings, burdens, etc.... praying not my will but Yours, oh God...("storing my possessions").  He should be the first and last person I talk to and think about...which can be through prayer or meditation!  Now this sounds like a life deliberately aimed at abiding in the vine...and yes, it has to be an intentional effort (for me at least) or else it allows other things to occupy the space in my day and then inevitably I'm too tired at night to do anything else but sleep.  I want this time with Jesus to become something that is happening throughout the day naturally...and something I never wanna miss out on...EVER!  I don't want any cold areas on my body, but I wanna be completely submerged under the presence of God and in a living relationship with Him that is thriving and producing fruit because I'm plugged into the main source...that vine that gives the branches the nutrients it needs to produce fruit.  So yes, I'll be intentional with it at first but with time the hope is that it meshes into my day in a way that is as natural as walking in and out of my own home.  Happy abiding, and may you be decked out in DELIGHT this week as you seek to remain in Jesus' presence and abide in Him.