IF WE SHOW UP, HE SHOWS UP
I get a little nervous every time before I write one of these
preach letters, and sometimes have no idea what’s going to come out. But I do
know this much: If I just show up, the Lord shows up. We all have certain
places we go where the Lord meets us, a certain chair we like, a bench out in
the yard, a path in the woods, or behind the wheel of the car on a favorite
roadway. One of the places I go to is my chair at my desk where my laptop
lives. If I show up to write, He will be there every time.
Our Lord Jesus had His favorite places to go, where He could talk
to God alone. One of those places was a mountain. “And when he had sent the multitudes
away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the
evening was come, he was there alone” (Matt. 14:23). And John 6:14: “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come
and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain
himself alone.”
John 7:53 to John 8:1 tells us that after a long day of preaching
and ministering to the people, “every man went
unto his own house. Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.”
Just think about it for a few minutes. When you
have a really tough situation you’re facing, where do you go to get calm or
clear your head? Jesus had his favorite locations. You do too. You may not have
recognized it as such, but let’s start paying attention to what touches our
souls. Intimacy with the Lord has to look like something in our natural realm.
Jesus went to a mountain, and sometimes He went
to a garden. “When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his
disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered,
and his disciples” (John 18:1). “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place
called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, ‘Sit ye here, while I go
and pray yonder’” (Matt. 26:36).
When and where is it that you feel the closest to
God? Is it when you’re sitting in your bed in the middle of the afternoon, when
there’s no one else around? Or is it when you’re on an early morning ride on
your motorcycle? Or on a brisk walk around the block in your neighborhood? Or
is it sitting quietly in your church on a day and time when hardly any people
are around?
Inside of you, you already know where one of your
special places is, a physical place where the Lord has met you before. If you
are trying to think of where it is, and you don’t really think you have one,
that’s okay; this will be a new adventure for you to find it.
Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you and then do
the first thing that comes to mind. Often when we’re learning to hear the voice
of the Lord, we practice by asking a simple question and then just doing the first
thing that comes to mind. 99% of the time, it will be the Lord. He wants you to
hear His voice even more than you do! Don’t second-guess yourself. Take the
first thought and go for it. Don’t be afraid. If you just show up, He’ll be
there the first time and every time after.
Our real-life intimate locations already exist. We don’t have to
go overseas to find them. They are within easy reach of where we live.
Recognize and report for duty. The Lord is waiting for you.
God is everywhere, but intimacy with Him has to
look like something. Let’s find those special places with the Lord and visit
often.
Love, Carolyn
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