The One Who… is Present

One morning this past week, I was sitting with God, journaling. I was telling Him about how I feel better when I’m talking to Him all the time, about everything. As I’m cleaning, as I’m driving, showering, working, whatever; and not necessarily about anything in particular, nothing big or serious, just about whatever I’m doing. To be honest, I don’t remember the last time I did this.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” — Ephesians 6:18

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.” — Philippians 4:6 (cough, cough, For When You Are Anxious.)

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” — Colossians 4:2

You guys know how much I love to study and chew on scripture. I was telling the Lord that ever since I started learning the Word with the interpretation from a Messianic Jewish lens and started asking the question, “What does this teach me about God”, it’s wrecked me. In a good way. I feel like there are things that didn’t make sense for so many years that suddenly click, and I’ve become even more in awe of God. I’ve stopped “navel gazing” (that’s a fun phrase I’ve learned in the last couple months). In other words, I’ve stopped staring at myself and all the things that need to be fixed and rather simply started staring at Him and trusting that He is fully capable of getting me to where I need to be. (Hebrews 12:2) My job is just to say yes (listen and obey), which has been freeing. However, because I feel like I’m learning so many new things about the Lord and His Word, and loving it, I’ve definitely started leaning more into the “figure out” mode, when it comes to spending time with Him.

But, as I sat there thinking about the simplicity of talking to Him throughout my day, I realized I missed Him.

There’s a YouTube channel I sometimes like to breeze over. This isn’t necessarily a recommendation. But, there are some topics that are interesting to me. (Also, the videos are extremely long and I try not to be on YouTube forever.) The channel is called “The Diary of a CEO”. It’s got random people, who are seen as experts or extremely successful (I would add, in the world’s eyes) in their field. One that I watched the other day, was about a brain scientist. Again, I didn’t watch the whole thing, but one thing I did catch was that she was talking about the difference between the left side and the right side of the brain. She explained that we are a culture and generation that tends to only operate out of the left side of the brain. Which I would affectionally call the “figure out” side. The left brain is where we are constantly thinking, organizing, trying to figure things out, analyzing, and consuming information. The right side of the brain is where we feel at rest, we are doing something we enjoy, taking in the present moment, and we feel fully inside our body. The lady said the right side is the side of the brain that gives us the “warm fuzzy” feeling. It made me think about how often I’m in “figure out” mode. Obviously, during my day to day, planning, organizing, scheduling, but also, let’s not forget even when I’m consuming media. It’s weird how I can read a novel and feel present and truly enjoying myself, but when I watch TV or a movie at home, I’ve also gotta be on my phone playing a game, working, or looking something up. No wonder we struggle so much with over-stimulation.

It’s as if we’ve conditioned ourselves to believe that life is always a problem to be solved. The struggle of anxiety suddenly makes sense with this mindset.

The thing I realized is I’ve started doing this with the Lord— yes, the One who created the very brains we are talking about. Instead of simply being present with Him, I’ve treated Him like another problem to be solved. He’s become a Being to be interpreted rather than experienced, and an idea to be argued or explained rather than Father to walk with.

I want to use my whole brain with Jesus. That sounds odd and slightly ridiculous to say. But, you get it, yea? I want to be present with the One who is present with me, while also learning about Him and getting to know Him, His heart, His nature and His character. It’s not one or the other, it’s both/and. I want to say yes not only to big moments— the deeper healings, the surrender of anxious thoughts, the tragedies, the redemption invitations, or even the life-changing revelations. I also want to say yes to His invitation of always being with me. Not that He isn’t with me, unless I acknowledge Him, but I want to acknowledge Him in everything, ya know? (Proverbs 3:6) I want to say yes to Him in this present moment, and in the ones where I’m just doing the dishes, just going to the grocery store, and just getting ready for bed.

I’ve never given much thought to the man who gave Jesus his tomb, have you? But something that Luke wrote about him jumped off the page at me and is taking root in my heart.

“Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the Kingdom of God.” — Luke 23:50-51

“He was looking for the Kingdom of God.”

Gosh, that hit me hard. If I’m being honest with myself (and you apparently), I’m not always looking for the Kingdom of God. I seek God for His hand in my life more often than I seek Him for His heart. I’m looking for those big moments I mentioned earlier. I want the healing, the breakthrough, the revelation. I’m looking for Him to engage my story, not necessarily for the ways I can engage His. And please hear me, I’m not saying those big moments don’t matter, or that the Lord is offended at us seeking Him for those. He’s not. I am saying, or rather echoing Him in saying, that if we “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added” to us.

I want to be someone who is always looking for the Kingdom of God so I can engage with Him in it. I think this starts with inviting Him into everything and saying yes to Him in anything.

I know I’ve used this quote before, but I feel it’s good enough to say again. “You can find God in everything and miss Him in anything.” -Ken Helser

So your encouragement for the week:

Say yes to His invitations. Look for His Kingdom and engage with Him in it. Talk to Him about everything while you are doing anything. Engage your whole brain with the One who created it! And be present with The One Who is Present with you!