To Be in His Presence
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 84:10
Meeting God profoundly affects our confidence and our expectations. When we find him, it is always a shock to realize how much he cares about us.
Instead of confronting a vindictive judge who waits for a chance to deal with us about our shortcomings, we find a God of grace who looks for the chance to forgive our sins, establish us in his favor, and pour on us his blessings.
To our surprise, we learn that he will withhold nothing good from those who walk in sincerity and uprightness before him. He is the source of all good, and his will toward us is loving concern. He is our sun who gives us light and our shield who surrounds us with protection.
The most important consequence of meeting God is what it does to our sense of priorities. We come to realize that we need him more than anything else. In fact, we need him even more than we need his gifts. It is for God himself that our soul cries out.
The association with God will leave in us the hallowing impact of place and people and seasons, but our hearts will hunger for his presence. He is the source of all good, but he is better than all good.
There is no justification needed for our searching for him. Although some do not know it, to be near God is the deepest desire of every human heart.
—Dennis Kinslaw
This Day with the Master
Augustine was right when he professed, “Our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.” Kinlaw writes, “The most important consequence of meeting God is what it does to our sense of priorities. We come to realize that we need him more than anything else.” This is a profound threshold in our lives, the moment we discover “to be near God is the deepest desire of every human heart.” It is a liberating moment as we’re set free from the pursuit of lesser things, all the things we’ve tried to stuff into the God-shaped hole in our being, things that never ultimately satisfy. It’s in Christ that we encounter fulfillment that never fades or lets us down. The change is so profound, you’ll come away with a new question: Why didn’t I come to Christ sooner? —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics