Psalms 31:20: 20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
There are moments – moments when we are so in awe of the Lord that we are afraid to move, afraid to speak, afraid to do anything but fall on our face in abject humility because, if we do anything less than completely surrender, we might mess it up.I am blessed to have several distinct moments like that in my walk with the Lord. The latest such instance when the presence of God was palatable, occurred a few nights ago while studying scripture with my 15 year old daughter.
As I watched her, she read scripture and took solace in it. She highlighted with perfect green lines, wrote in her bible, and asked questions. Then as we prayed together, something I’ll admit we don’t do as often as we should, there was a peace and understanding – all was well. Followers of Jesus rest in the presence of the almighty. No matter the storm, Jesus is there to care for our needs. It is such a blessing that the God of the universe would care for us enough to grant us His peace. When I think about the sovereignty, grace, and mercy of God I am brought back to Romans 5:8:
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We are separated from God by sin. This is an affliction that we can not resolve. God knows that and therefore sent His Son to die a horrific death so that all who believe would live. The peace we have in the Lord is a result of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. it is a sacrifice that we do not deserve and yet the God of the universe made it freely that we might come into a relationship with Him by His Grace through faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
[ Israel Resists the Holy Spirit ] “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,