Awakening

I recently have become obsessed with seeing the morning sun as I head to work. Generally I do not look to the sunrise with anticipation because that means that I have to get up early and I am most definitely a night owl!  However I have to go to work and with what I do I have to get up early..I have to get up while the sun is rising! When I turn the corner off my street and head to the main road the sun beams hit me directly in the face! Often times almost blinding me but what the bright shining sun reminds me of is God's presence and His power shining so bright down on us.  Take a look at some of the views that I am blessed with on my way to work.

Now here is the crazy part to me...all three of these pictures are completely different but they are all taken in the same location. What makes the big difference is timing...five minutes can change how the sky looks in the morning. Along with other scientific and atmospheric explanations but that is way above my pay grade! Each day brings awakening for us. There are several definitions for awakening:

• to wake up from sleep
• a revival of interest or attention
• to come or bring to an awareness; to become cognizant

The one that I want to focus on today is the third definition of becoming cognizant. The question that I have is how aware of you of God in your everyday life?

 I had an incredible experience this weekend in church. I was invited to hear a very special song called "Say Amen" and the spirit of the Lord was speaking to my heart during the first verse and chorus and let me preface a little before I reveal the next part of my story. I have always been self-conscious raising my arms in worship, whether thinking I would stand out or that my arms are too long to raise up because I would be blocking someone's view or whatever other silly reason that held me captive. There have been times that I have wanted to respond in worship by standing up or raising my arms and I (notice what word I just used "I") would always make up an excuse why I shouldn't or just ignore that voice that was prompting me. The Lord has been pursuing my heart hardcore over the past few months breaking down walls and barriers, that I spent many years building thank you very much hahaha, to get to my inner room. We all have an inner room it is where we are most vulnerable and there is no admittance unless you have the top level of security along with multiple references. Okay now back to my story...I am feeling the Holy Spirit stirring up something inside that inner room that longs to worship the Lord without any inhibitions. Well this time it was different. There wasn't a back and forth conversation/argument about responding to worship when the chorus rolled around...

"And if there's anybody here who's found Him faithful

Anybody here who knows He's able

Say Amen

And if there's anybody here who's seen His power

Anybody here brought through the fire

Say Amen

Anybody here found joy in the middle of sorrow

Peace in the storm, hope for tomorrow

And seen it time and time again

Then just Say AMEN!"

The next thing that I knew I was up on my feet with both my arms raised straight up in the air! There wasn't any time for hesitation it was almost like a reflex...God was calling to me and I answered as quickly as I could! Now once on my feet it was like the whole room had disappeared and it was just myself and the Lord. I felt so full of the Holy Spirit that I felt my legs start to shake and I had to open my eyes for a minute to make sure I wasn't gonna fall over! Sunday I had a divine encounter with our precious heavenly Father! This is a grand and beautiful example of how God uses things in our day to awaken us to His presence. Which leads me back to the question I asked earlier...how aware of God are you in your daily life? When we are in communication with God through our thoughts and prayers He will show up in the small and big ways but we have to be aware of His presence. Look for God's little love notes that He is leaving around for you all over the place. For example when you are running late for work and hit all the green lights...that's not luck it's God!  When you notice a beautiful sunrise or sunset..that's God sharing His beautiful creation with you! When you are having a bad day and someone comes along and offers you a kind word or a hug...that's God showing you love and compassion. Isaiah 41:10 says"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." God is all around us all the time but we have to be aware of Him. 

God desires an intimate relationship with Him and in order to grow in that relationship we need to spend time with Him. The more time that we spend with Him the deeper our relationship grows and our awareness opens up to all the wonderful things that He has for us.  I learned a formula in my college class for intimacy that was profound and so simple that I need to share it with you. 

Intimacy=honesty + vulnerability

Three simple words but a very hard assignment to take on sometimes. The first word honesty doesn't bother me too much since I am a pretty straight forward honest girl but the second one, yikes! Being vulnerable has risks but the benefits outweigh the risks when it comes to an intimate relationship with God because He will never manipulate, hurt, or leave us. Be on the lookout for God this week and notice how much He pursues a relationship with you!