God's Lap

Abstract art is not understood by everyone.  Some brush it aside with scarcely a glance, while others pause and study to grasp its message.  Yet, if the viewer is still struggling to catch the meaning, sometimes all they need is a prompt, and it all falls into place.  

The challenge with writing is to create art in such a way that the reader fully understands.  Stating the obvious is condescending to the reader, but by the same token, a piece too vague causes the reader to miss the message entirely.

Yesterday I published a post which may have been misunderstood.  For this reason, I removed it.  Yet, I am not sorry I wrote it, only that I may have shared too much of my heart.  For those who read it, forgive me if I made you uncomfortable.

However, I believe in the message I was trying to convey and so here I seek to give a prompt to its meaning.

The word, "habit" receives a bad rap, but God made us habitual beings for our own benefit.  Oh what blessing is a good habit!  For this reason, we need discipline and ritual to carve out habits in our lives, such as time alone with the Lord each day.

But good habits have some traps.  We can go through our structured devotional books, Bible reading, even prayer, having never really met with God.  There are times in our lives, usually when our hearts hurt deeply, when God urges us to color outside the lines.  In those moments the Spirit intercedes for us with words that cannot be spoken, only this aching of the heart. 

Yesterday, God met me in that place of intensity.  While I did not run to my structure, I did visit the Word and my prayers were real.  I earnestly sought the Lord and He answered.  (I will speak of that answer in another post coming soon.)  But sometimes there is struggle before surrender comes.

Structure helps me stay disciplined in communion with the Lord each day, especially when life's pressures threaten to invade.   And in dry seasons, that habitual time in the Word is a life saver.  In fact, I challenge you:  establish a habit of meeting with God each day and see if it will not revolutionize your life!

While lofty, my goal is not to get through the Bible in a year, nor to pray through someone else's prayer journal.  My deepest heart's desire is to encounter the Living God!  This is done through His Word and prayer by His Holy Spirit who dwells in all who believe.

And so I conclude with this:  become like little children.   Open the Word, pray real, and seek Him with all your heart.  This is my regular habit and I hope it is yours as well.  But in that place of structure, don't be afraid to crawl up on God's lap or to hide under the shelter of His wings.