The Wonder of Living in His Presence

I was very tired when I went to bed Tuesday night and expected to fall asleep immediately. Instead, I found myself contemplating a passage of scripture found in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” As I considered the full implications of these words, I realized this scripture points directly to the root cause of much of the brokenness and heartache in our world today. Our hearts yearn for something meaningful that will last; something eternally significant. Yet, in the past 50 years, our culture has systematically stripped away even the pretense of "eternal” from everything we are simultaneously encouraged to value.

Consider this, eternal security cannot be found in:

Our jobs – people are employed as long as their contributions to the company exceed their costs.

Our relationships – commitment has been redefined as "I will be with you as long as I love you".

Our status and positions – You will be forgotten as soon as someone else’s nameplate appears on your desk.

Our appearance – youthful beauty and vitality are venerated while all evidence of aging must be hidden or erased.

Our possessions – a comfortable nest egg can vanish overnight with a sharp, unexpected drop in the stock market.

Our moral values – truth has become relative to the situation with no absolute right or wrong behaviors.

Our meaning – Since the world insists there is no God, boundaries have been removed, purpose has been made redundant, and hope has been lost.

Is it any wonder so many seek escape through drugs and alcohol, throw-away behaviors and suicide?

Realizing sleep was out of the question until I transferred some of these ideas from thought to paper, I quietly slipped out of bed and jotted down a page full of notes. It was after 1 am before I returned to bed. When I awakened Wednesday morning, my thoughts were once again preoccupied with this verse. I have learned to pay attention when God impresses a passage of scripture upon my heart in such a powerful way and fully expected to encounter this verse again at some point during the day. (It thrills my soul every time God confirms a message He has spoken to me in some tangible way!)

I eagerly opened my devotion books thinking it might be one of my verses for the day but it wasn’t there. After my devotion time with the Lord, I worked on a message for an upcoming speaking event until I stopped just after lunch to attend a visitation at a local funeral home. My brother-in-law’s sister was unexpectedly called home to be with the Lord this past weekend and I planned to meet my husband for the visitation. Although I wanted to support the family during their time of loss, I had decided to miss the funeral because it was being held in the chapel of the funeral home. I had not reentered this room since my son’s funeral service four years ago and I feared the emotional impact of revisiting the site of such intense pain and brokenness.

As I made the short trip to meet my husband, I began to reconsider my decision to miss the funeral. God revealed to me that this chapel was merely a room made of brick and mortar and had no power to hurt me. In fact, He has given both me and my son victory over this devastating situation and I felt convicted to claim that victory by confronting my fears. I resolved to do it and depend upon my Lord for my strength.

Later, as Jasper and I prepared to enter the chapel, I felt my heart begin to pound very fast but, otherwise, I was doing okay. I did not feel overwhelmed by grief as I had anticipated. Instead, I felt bathed in a peaceful confidence! We chose our seat and I was able to calmly examine the room while cherishing the special bond I will always share with my beloved son. The service began and just a few minutes later, it happened! The pastor opened his Bible and announced he would be reading from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3. Is it possible to be expectantly astonished? Such a seeming contradiction best describes my reaction; especially when the passage he read aloud to us included verse 11!

Oh, my precious Lord and Savior! How kind, affirming, comforting and encouraging You are! If this was all He did for me on this amazing day, it would have been enough and so appreciated but there was more yet to come!

(If you were to ask either of my sons, “What one song did your mom sing to you as a child that you most associate with being held in her arms and rocked to sleep?” They would immediately respond You Are My Sunshine!

This singing tradition (not the rocking!) continued even after my boys grew into young men. Whenever I felt they needed some extra loving comfort or encouragement from their mom, I would ask, “Do you want me to sing You Are My Sunshine to make you feel better?”

Since my babies were now old enough to recognize their mom's serious limitations in the area of anything musical, this question always resulted in laughter followed by a hasty, “No thanks, Mom!”)

The funeral was preparing to end and I felt glad I had decided to attend. The first notes of the final song filled the room causing me to catch my breath! You guessed it - You Are My Sunshine! I gasped and my eyes filled with tears of gratitude. Can you imagine what it meant to me to re-enter the site of such heartrending pain and have my God wrap His powerful arms around me and love me like this?!

What kind of God cares so much for His hurting children that He is willing to walk with us through every trial regardless of how big or how small? What kind of God would bless my trust in Him with such abundance? What kind of eternal, unmerited love is this?

Just think, if I had chosen to bow to defeat and avoid the funeral service rather than obediently and trustingly claim the victory He has already given me, I would have missed His blessings!

What kind of God, indeed! He is exactly the kind you and I need and the only possible solution to the yearning for eternity He has placed in our hearts!

What about you? Are you bowing to painful challenges and accepting defeat when God is standing near; ready to deliver eternal victory into your hands? I invite you to claim His promises right now and prepare to receive the awesome wonder of His presence filling up all of the empty places in your heart! My prayer for you today and every day is that you never spend another moment anywhere except cradled in the arms of your loving Creator!