Experiencing God's Presence #110

Experiencing God's Presence #110

Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Philippians 3:8

I had experienced God’s touch and heard His voice, but several fellow Christians objected to experience as part of the Christian life. (I marvel at the absurdity of that objection now—isn’t the Bible a vast collection of people’s experiences with God?—but it’s sadly commonplace and gave me some concern at the time.) And the tension mounted between what God was actually doing in my life and what people told me He would or would not do. There came a time when I had to decide whether to make a choice to follow Him or to follow the positions, traditions, and assumptions of human beings who saw the experiences of the Bible as exceptions, not examples. I chose Him. “Lord, I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’ll fall flat on my face. Maybe I’ll be humiliated in the eyes of everyone I know. But I’m going after You—completely, recklessly, desperately. And I’ll trust You to lead me, correct me, and establish me however You choose.”

From that point forward, the Presence increased. I read the Bible through new lenses, and its people, stories, and truths became clearer and clearer. I received affirmation after affirmation: my choice was good, and many of my past assumptions were wrong. God was leading me in new, exciting, and entirely biblical ways.

God honors those who abandon themselves to Him—those who are willing to relinquish every restraint in order to follow His leading, who almost recklessly go after Him without fear of looking ridiculous or being criticized by those around them. He expects discernment, obviously, and He will correct those who are moving in wrong directions; but He also treasures those whose desire for Him refuses to be quenched by hyperanalytical self-examination. He shows Himself to eyes focused exclusively on Him.

Lord, I choose You. I’m tired of religious principles and precepts and traditions that make assumptions about what You will and will not do. I open myself to whatever You want to do in my life—anything at all, no matter how out-of-the-box—as long as it fits with Your character and purposes.