A Glimpse of God

What words do you use when you speak of God? How do you describe Him? I started these devotionals years ago in hopes of helping my boys learn more about who God is. It is I who has been learning the most.

Some of my devotionals were written during specific events in my life. Others developed over extended periods of time and were forged in the ordinary, everyday occurrences of living. Ordinary, everyday life we all go through at one time or another—all of which provided opportunities for me to experience the character of God and to find out who He is and how He wanted to help me through all those experiences.

This book only shows glimpses of the journey I am on. Some days it is effortless to trust in my Creator, and then there are days, as you can read on these pages, it was and is a struggle. The days I struggle I must go back to that choice—to believe who He says He is, to trust the plans He has for my life, whether I fully understand them or know all of them yet—and to rest in that.

The more I learn of Him, the more I want to know, and the more I also realize it will still only be a glimpse until I pass into eternity. But oh, what a glimpse! My words fall short in adequately portraying how much He loves each of us. I come to grips each time I have written a devotional (and as I reread them still) of how unworthy I am. But at the same time, I am immersed with the knowledge that because of Christ’s love and sacrifice, He redeemed me and now I am worthy to be called a child of the most high and living God. Often I have had to confess and repent while writing these devotions, but as you can see, each page reflects who I have found God to be: a Father, a friend, a lover, a Savior, and I could go on and on. And through these revelations, I have found and continue to find grace, mercy, and peace, and more.

Stuffed

You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. —Psalm 16:11 NASB

Fullness of joy. I was trying to wrap my head around that particular phrase when I asked my dad for some help. My dad is great at giving in-depth answers. He gave me an illustration of the meaning of joy in this particular Scripture. Maybe he had heard it before or maybe it was his own, but I loved it. He described it as sitting down for a great meal and you have eaten so much that you are completely stuffed. You couldn’t hold another bite, but the meal was so good you want more. That’s the joy of God’s presence.

That description so fit what happened to me the other day going to work. I even shared it with probably my whole e-mail list. I’m sure some of them thought I had lost it again, but I didn’t mind. See, that morning I woke up in one of those moods where you just want to pull the covers over your head and declare a mental health day. It took some doing to drag myself out of bed. But I was so glad I did.

I live in northern Michigan where sometimes winter lasts the whole year except July 4 (just kidding, but some winters feel that long). So my drive back and forth to work can be an adventure. The one thing that saves me some days is the sunrises and sunsets. Often, I have literally pulled over on the edge of the road to witness the unfolding of a miracle. On this particular morning it was breathtaking. The streaks of yellow, orange, and pink rose from the horizon and catapulted across the sky.

As I wrote to my e-mail friends, you may say what you want—that it is the gases coming together, doing this and doing that to make the colors form—but ride in the car with me one day and you’ll change your mind. God’s presence fills my car, and sometimes I cry because it is so real. I feel like God is saying hello and inviting me to be in His presence, letting me know that I am in the palm of His hand and how much He loves me. I felt like I was having that meal my dad described. I was stuffed full, but I wanted more.

A couple of days later, I thought how it is easy to recognize and feel the presence of God on days like that. A view that spectacular raises your awareness. Today, however, I’m looking out the window, eating my lunch, and I see winter: cold, windy, a storm in the forecast. Then all of a sudden I sense God’s presence and Him saying, Excuse Me, I’m here now too. I smiled and laughed out loud, because God’s presence in this moment is as real and touching as the day of the beautiful sunrise and I am “full of joy” once again.

Real joy, lasting joy, fullness of joy. How can we have it? I’m thinking that being in God’s presence is a good bet. And I’m thinking it can be anywhere or anytime. But it can go beyond that, because every spiritual fruit we display comes in having the presence of God within us by the salvation of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of His Spirit. It is to be as natural as it is to breathe. We can be stuffed, not just with joy, but with love, kindness, and on and on. And we can share that with others so they can be stuffed too!