Perfect connection with God is really what we’re all looking for.
“Just got here!!!” The text read.
Immediately my heart leapt.
SHOOT!!!
I forgot about meeting my dear college friend for coffee – at a shop half an hour away from my house. And I was still in my pj’s and I hadn’t showered yet…
She lives 2.5 hours away, and I had sooo been looking forward to meeting up with her.
I texted her back and replied that oddly I had forgotten about our plan [I hadn’t looked at my calendar yet that day!], and that I would be on my way shortly. Fastest shower of my life and something casual but pretty to wear ..
Well, we had a great time as we always do – thought provoking conversation about family and ministry, life dreams and personal goals … it was so good.
And it was worth every bit of effort and rush that I put into getting ready and meeting up with her as planned.
Thankful for my gracious friend Laura, and her deep heart, and her willingness to overlook my forgetfulness and lateness … just so happy to share life and conversation [and coffee!] together.
Then the thought struck me… just like this nearly missed coffee connection, how often do I miss a planned connection time with Jesus (or even forget to put Him on the daily calendar at all?) … and do I demonstrate the same heart-leaping-get-dressed-get-ready thrill of “don’t-panic-but-how-could-you-forget-this-date-Jenn” sort of excitement?
Maybe it’s because I don’t get to see Laura very often…
Or maybe it’s because I rarely forget dates and appointments that the heartbeat picked up a bit ….
Made for connection.
But, maybe it’s also because Jesus is once again nudging my heart to remember how near and dear and close and worth chasing every moment of the day He is.
And oh how much I really want my heart sensitized,
so that if I miss a quiet time with Him, my heart beats wildly with the
“when can I meet with my dear sweet Friend” heartbeat…
That Song of Songs pulse that keeps me on the edge of my chair, interacting, dialoguing, hanging on His every word to me, hearing His response, as I share my life, heart, thoughts and feelings
The Psalmist wrote: As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:1-2 NIV)
What a powerful surge of love and strength our spirit receives from connecting with our Creator, Father, Healer, Restorer. We were absolutely made for this connection.
Perfect connection with God.
In fact, there isn’t a more perfect connection anywhere, than the one we have with our Creator Father. He made us in His image – daughters and sons – and our deepest, most profound longing for relationship and oneness can only be met in Him.
We’ve all struggled with the hunt for the perfect friendship or relationship only to find that (all) people are flawed and imperfect. Including ourselves!
We’re late for [coffee] appointments even though we have the best of intentions …
We might give the wrong gift or we get the wrong gift …
We can say the wrong words: sometimes we say too much or we say too little …
Sometimes we exhibit too much effort and we forget to give people their space or too little effort and someone feels forgotten …
But with God – He knows what we need, He never gets it wrong … and He is never slow on delivery:
He knows what we need before we ask. (Matthew 6:7-8)
- We don’t need to use a lot of words because He understands our hearts!
He is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine. (Matthew 14:13-21)
- We don’t see more than 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, yet He feeds 5000 men plus women and children and there’s left-overs … (can I please get that recipe?!?!)
He is both willing and able to meet our needs and connect with us. (Matthew 6:25-34)
- Search Him out, seek Him, spend time with Him … as He is your deepest resource.
He has taught us how to connect with Him. (Matthew 6:9-13)
- His disciples asked Him ‘how to pray’ and lovingly He gave them what we call “the Lord’s Prayer”… and so many other examples of how to approach God the Father in relationship.
Jesus demonstrated the value of drawing away from the distractions of life and spending time alone with the Father. (Matthew 14:13-14, 22-36)
- Jesus withdrew and prayed at every and any opportunity and as a result people around Him were healed, storms were stilled, people walked on water, they ate bread and fishes that just kept multiplying … and the miraculous and supernatural heart of God showed up!!
A safe connection.
And Psalm 84 reminds us of how perfectly safe our Friendship with God is, how tender He is towards our needs and quirks. Verse 3 says: even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near Your altar.
Here’s the funny thing. A few weeks ago a momma bird built a nest in a safe quiet place … right by our front door. At first she was happy and snug in it. But then she realized that there was too much coming and going for her to risk raising her young there. So she abandoned the nest.
But this is not how it is when we seek to meet with God. Psalm 84:3 tells us that the perfect nesting place is by the altar of God. The most sacred, quiet, intimate place of all Old Testament connection with God is the altar. And that place is in our hearts today.
Safe enough for a fragile sparrow to raise her young. Safe enough for me to share my heart.
Thirsty for perfect connection with God.
Vibrant enough that the Psalmist wrote: O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You… my soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods… (Psalm 63:1-5 NIV)
When David wrote “taste and see that the Lord is good” he was writing out of His experience that the goodness, power and presence of God made a difference in everyday life and was worth ‘taste testing’ (Psalm 34:8).
Well, that day in the coffee shop I was just glad to have not missed my chance to meet up with a good friend that goes back to college days … and the coffee, the relaxed atmosphere of connecting with a good friend was refreshing to my spirit.
How much more when we meet with God?! I challenge you to set aside a few minutes a day and wrap words around what is going on in your life and mind … share it with Him!
Taste and see that the Lord is good! Go ahead and ask Him to increase your appetite for His nearness and also what He’s resourcing you with today. Sometimes journaling your thoughts will begin to show you the amazing things that God is doing in your life.
Watch and see how rich relationship time is with God! We were truly created for this perfect connection with God!
Copyright (c) 2019 Jennifer Bryant-Choong. All Rights Reserved.
