It was Monday morning.  I sat at the breakfast table eating my corn flakes and thinking about the events of yesterday and the things that needed attention today.  As I looked out the kitchen window a big, bright, yellow moon was still shedding its brilliance well above the horizon in the Western sky.  From my position I could also look out the window in the front door and I noticed a peculiar phenomenon.  Both of God's great lights were blessing His people at the same time in our part of His world.  In the East was a beautiful orange glow that was just beginning to paint the peaks of my neighbor's houses with the colors of daylight.

I wondered if it might have been an early morning like this that David sat on a lonely hillside in Judea and meditated on his God. Perhaps he saw both the sun and moon, just as I was now doing. Perhaps that morning, before the sheep began to stir, David had reflected on the events of yesterday or the concerns of the day that was just beginning.  With the moon sinking into the Mediterranean Sea and the sun bursting forth from somewhere East of Eden David may have shared the same phenomenon that I saw from my kitchen.

Different places and different times but for those who take time to notice, the same constant reminders of God's presence and power are available to us.  "Be still and know that I am God", David said, "though the earth should change, though the mountains shake or the waters roar ... the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge". Ps. 46:2-10

NEW DISCOVERIES:

Why is it so hard to sense God's presence in our daily lives?  Have times changed so much that awareness of God, on a conscious level, is more of a fantasy than a reality?  If we're honest I think many of us would have to admit that we are barbecuing ourselves in our own adrenaline.  "Motion", that's it, we have to keep in motion.  We must be on the move!  There must be some place to go or something to do!  If we look busy and act busy people will think we're important... successful... fulfilled!

When Jacob, seeking to obey his father, set out on his journey to Paddan-aram in search of a wife he came to a certain place called Luz and decided to spend the night there.  We're not told much about the city but it seems evident there was no Holiday Inn  catering to weary travelers in this place.  It was late at night and Jacob laid down under the stars of heaven using a stone for his pillow.  During the night Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder reaching from earth to heaven and angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  The voice of God assured Jacob that He was the God of Abraham and would be with Jacob on his journey and would bring him safely back to this place when his mission was completed.

Jacob was visibly shaken when he awoke from his sleep.  He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place!"  He referred to it as the house of God and the gate of heaven.  Perhaps the most significant discovery though was the unexpected.  For some reason this was the last place that Jacob expected to find God.  It was Canaanite country and Jacob may have prepared himself to encounter lots of heathen idols and false gods.  It's strange, and unfortunate, how we limit God by our expectations of Him!  When Jacob's dream was over he woke up and said, "surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it". (Gen.28:16)

Getting back to the concept we started with I wonder how many places we've been in the last week or month where we didn't expect to find God.  It truly is an awesome thing that we don't have to go to Jerusalem or Mecca or Rome to find God.  According to the Apostle Paul, "He is not far from each one of us". (Acts 17:27).  It might be in a beautiful sunset or the quietness of an early morning walk that you will sense the presence of the Almighty.  It could be during your personal prayer time or while pondering a meaningful passage of scripture that the Father will touch your heart and awaken your spirit.  You may see God in the love and devotion of a wife to a husband who has been unfaithful or in the faith of a young couple who have lost a precious child in death. Paul tells us that the reason God has done all the things He has done is so we will seek Him, feel after Him and find Him.  How are you doing in that department?

THE REAL ISSUES:

It is true that times have changed and we live in a fast paced society that has made phenomenal advances in almost every field.  Someone has described it as the "microwave" society.  Calendars and day timers are stuffed so full you can scarcely read the date.  Beepers and cellular phones have become common-place and remote controls with "last channel" buttons allow us to watch two different hockey games at the same time and even skip the commercials while we're doing it.  With this microwave mentality that seems to glorify busyness and instant gratification priorities are quickly shifted away from lasting values and important issues.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to be "out of touch" with people?  It can happen so fast it's scary:  Husbands out of touch with their wives, or wives out of touch with their husbands; parents out of touch with their children or maybe, in your case, it's the other way around.  There are few relationships where this can happen easier than our relationship with God.  I had a teacher one time that described the subtle nature of drifting away from God.  He said, "drifting is so imperceptible while in progress".  The couple that stands in the divorce court never really intended to be there.  The father and son who haven't spoken to each other in years never planned for it to be that way.  Relationships that aren't maintained on a day to day basis will gradually deteriorate.  Why should we think our relationship with God is any different?

When our children were young I remember them playing with their toys in the living room while their mother was busy preparing a meal in the kitchen.  Several times during the space of an hour they would drop what they were doing and come out to the kitchen to check with mom.  Sometimes they would have an important discovery to share or a request to make but many times they just needed to be "in touch".  Knowing that mom was there seemed to give them the security and confidence they needed to strike out on their own again and pursue whatever challenges faced them with their Fisher Price toys or Lego building blocks.

Are we too adult, too busy or too negligent to maintain this kind of relationship with our heavenly father?  A serious study of the life of David would force us to reckon with a timeless principle. The most fulfilling and successful periods of David's life were those days that included frequent, meaningful and personal communication with God.  Oh that we could learn and never forget this principle.

In these days of gidgets and gadgets, over crowded calendars and strained relationships how foolish of us to neglect the one true source of peace, confidence and security.  The most valuable things in life are often inexpensive and the few minutes you take to spend with God each day will pay big dividends for the rest of the day and the rest of your life.

THE WAITING GOD:

The focus of this article has been on our need to make God a significant part of our daily routine.  The other part of the picture is a waiting God who longs to hear from his children and to be included in their lives; in their joys and hurts, their defeats and victories.  Jacob didn't realize how near God was as he traveled through Canaanite country.  Paul had no idea how close God was as he traveled the road to Damascus.  The prodigal son could not begin to imagine how intently the father waited and longed for his return.  The patience of God allowed Him to wait in the days of Noah for someone - anyone, to call on His name and be rescued.  Most people didn't and were swallowed up by the flood.  The distance that exists between us and our God is the result of our own doing.  This is true of both the salvation issues and the intimacy issues.  God waits patiently for us to be "in touch" with Him, to glorify His name and experience the joy of His presence.

A GREAT PROMISE:

If you are seeking and searching and desiring to walk with God be encouraged today by one of the great promises of the Bible.  In the book of James we read, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." (James 4:8 NIV)  Let us trust in this promise and commit ourselves to intentionally seeking an intimate relationship with the creator of the universe.