Open Myself to God - Practice the Presence

"Practicing the presence is an invitation to see and experience every moment as a gift to God.  It is to live alive to union with the Trinity." - Spiritual Disciplines Handbook

     I think the single most important thing to recognize from this section is that we are always in the presence of God.  He is always there, no matter the circumstances, no matter how happy or sad we feel.  He is omnipresent.  But just because God is here, doesn't mean we are looking.  There are a lot of times when we get caught up in the hustle of life where we totally miss God because we were too focused on the football game coming on at 1.  In Karen Mains' book, The God Hunt, she suggests that this idea of practicing the presence is like a God hunt.  God could at any time decide to reveal himself, but we aren't always looking for him when he does, so we totally miss it.

     I love how the message translates Jesus' words in this passage:

"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there.  But you miss the forest for the trees.  These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want." (John 5:39-40)   

     Jeez, that's intense.  Can you imagine getting so wrapped up in religion that you miss Christ?  Like how can we be so focused on those words in the Bible that you miss Christ living and moving among us?  I don't think that it is God's intention for us to be so wrapped up in following his directions that we miss encountering him personally.  God is here, we just have to open our eyes.

     Another side note...I can testify to how hard it is sometimes for God to get my attention.  I've been struggling with feeling dry since I've gotten to MNU.  I mean, I had tons of strong friends, awesome chapel services, but I hadn't found God's presence in a while.  I was so focused in finding him where everyone else did, whether in chapel or Sunday morning church, that I didn't notice that from day one he was speaking to me.  I had this thought of starting a small group but I kind of brushed that off to the side thinking that somebody else would take that responsibility.  It wasn't till I was forced to join a small group for my intro to ministry class that I took the initiative.  We met for the first time last night, and I felt God's presence more than I have since I got out here.  He spoke through my friend Trevor saying, "I'm here, why can't you see me?".