Lifted into God's Presence
Scripture Reading: Hosea 6: 1 - 3 (NIV)
1“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
Message: Lifted into God’s Presence
God’s Presence
Daily Bread - story of Jonah (Jonah 2: 2 - “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”)
Jonah discovered God’s presence in the belly of the fish… Sheool - “realm of the dead”
It reminds me of David saying in Psalm 23: 4 - “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; Your rod and your staff they comfort me.”
The book of Hosea tells the story of God’s presence despite unfaithfulness
The prophet’s sanctioned marriage with a prostitute, is a metaphor of God’s love for his unfaithful people
God is present, even in our unfaithfulness…
We love to refer to God’s presence in worship services…
Maybe because in a worship service we allow ourselves to be more aware of God’s presence, amidst the craziness of a world of information overload
The thing is, God is always present…
The foginess of our busy minds prevents us from sensing God’s presence…
God is always there…
When God feels far
I remember in 2001 after 9/11 there was a gut-wrenching headline above a picture of the fallen twin towers that read: “Where was God?”
We land up in situations in life when God feels far…
God can feel far when we lose someone close to us…
God can feel far when we feel loneliness…
God can feel far when we experience trauma…
God can feel far when we are overwhelmed with depression and anxiety…
God can feel far when things don’t work out as they are supposed to…
God can feel far when we are being judged by others who just don’t understand us…
God can feel far when blame God for things going wrong in our lives…
Even though in our minds might understand something of God being ever-present, our hearts can feel an absence of God when we are vulnerable…
I’m sure you know what I am talking about…
What does it look like when you feel that God is far in your life?
Seeking God’s Presence
Hosea says: “Come, let us return to the Lord.”
Let’s go back… like the prodigal son
There is loving Father waiting for us to return
Hosea’s call to return is a call to intensionally seek God’s presence
God never left, but we need to go back…
We need to open our minds and our hearts to experience God’s presence in our lives…
We can’t live without the presence of God in our lives
And in seeking God’s presence, God will come and bless us with His presence
Just look at the verbs of God in action when we return to Him:
“He will heal us…”
“He will bind up our wounds…”
“He will revive us…” (after two days)
“He will restore us…” (on the third day)
“He will appear to us…”
“He will come to us…”
We need God’s presence in our lives… we need to seek God in our lives…
Lifted by God (Intimacy)
When we find it in ourselves to seek the presence of God, God will not disappoint
God will come and heal, bind up wounds, revive, restore, appear and be with us
God will lift us up to be blessed by his healing presence
This week at our BEMA discussion, we talked about intimacy with God
We need to be close to God
We need to live in God’s presence
“If you create the space, God will fill it…”
Come and let’s God back to God…
Let us seek his presence…
He will restore us that we may live in his presence!
AMEN
Comments
Add your comment