Open up!
In the loudness of life's trials, His voice still speaks. It's our job to make the effort to listen for it. It comes to us in the exact moment He intends. This week He spoke to me while I was sitting watching my kids play. All around me was noise from children playing, and the heavy traffic during this part of the day. But somehow that still, small voice rang louder than anything else. He spoke my heart a passage from Psalm 24.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.- Psalm 24:7
It really baffled me because for one, it was said as it's written in the King James Version and I have never owned this version of a bible, and two I didn't understand the Lord's intent on speaking this to me. So this week I continued to pray and meditate upon this passage and obviously read it in context. It really took my a few days to fully grasp why He spoke this to me, but it's becoming more and more clear for me. He is trying to shift my thinking in to a deeper sense of who He is. We tend to seek His presence to change our atmosphere so we can "feel" His nearness and while that is not wrong, it's very limited. His presence isn't just an outside force meant to calm us, but a complete manifestation of it, in and throughout our lives. What do I mean by that? When we are seeking His presence, it isn't just to fill a space or a void; what we are really asking for is transformation.
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, invincible in battle.
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
he is the King of glory. -Psalm 24:7-10
He wants to manifest and fill us with His presence in every single area of our lives! This means letting Him in to every part. Yes, that includes the uncomfortable places in our lives. The gates. The places where we harbor hurts, or jealousy, or guilt. The places we are inwardly ashamed of. The rooms in our heart where we throw the junk in to and close the door when we come before Him. My friends, those are the places His presence works best!!
Some places may not be something we're ashamed of, but something we cherish. We become possessive of it and over-protective, not allowing anything to change it. I think back on my Great-Grandparent's house, When we would visit we never visited in the formal living room, we visited in the den. I remember as a kid thinking how silly it was to have this beautiful, spacious room with plastic-covered couches but yet never use it. We would squeeze in to the little den. How many times have we done that with His presence? We have all this space filled with stuff so protected that is essentially wasted because we want to keep it "just so" hidden behind the "Ancient Doors".
The Lord never leaves any place the same. Our Pastor pointed out a few weeks ago, that where ever Christ walked, was changed. No place where He set foot remained the same. That's what His presence should do to us even today. Asking for His presence. Seeking His presence, It isn't just about calm, or joy, or peace, it's about transforming the uncomfortable, moving our stuff in ways that are pleasing to Him to become more useful to further the kingdom. He is strong and mighty. He can handle whatever you are holding on to or whatever you are hiding. We need to seek Him earnestly and with abandon. His presence is more than just spending time with Him, it's allowing Him to transform every part of your life.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.- Psalm 24:7
It really baffled me because for one, it was said as it's written in the King James Version and I have never owned this version of a bible, and two I didn't understand the Lord's intent on speaking this to me. So this week I continued to pray and meditate upon this passage and obviously read it in context. It really took my a few days to fully grasp why He spoke this to me, but it's becoming more and more clear for me. He is trying to shift my thinking in to a deeper sense of who He is. We tend to seek His presence to change our atmosphere so we can "feel" His nearness and while that is not wrong, it's very limited. His presence isn't just an outside force meant to calm us, but a complete manifestation of it, in and throughout our lives. What do I mean by that? When we are seeking His presence, it isn't just to fill a space or a void; what we are really asking for is transformation.
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, invincible in battle.
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
he is the King of glory. -Psalm 24:7-10
He wants to manifest and fill us with His presence in every single area of our lives! This means letting Him in to every part. Yes, that includes the uncomfortable places in our lives. The gates. The places where we harbor hurts, or jealousy, or guilt. The places we are inwardly ashamed of. The rooms in our heart where we throw the junk in to and close the door when we come before Him. My friends, those are the places His presence works best!!
Some places may not be something we're ashamed of, but something we cherish. We become possessive of it and over-protective, not allowing anything to change it. I think back on my Great-Grandparent's house, When we would visit we never visited in the formal living room, we visited in the den. I remember as a kid thinking how silly it was to have this beautiful, spacious room with plastic-covered couches but yet never use it. We would squeeze in to the little den. How many times have we done that with His presence? We have all this space filled with stuff so protected that is essentially wasted because we want to keep it "just so" hidden behind the "Ancient Doors".
The Lord never leaves any place the same. Our Pastor pointed out a few weeks ago, that where ever Christ walked, was changed. No place where He set foot remained the same. That's what His presence should do to us even today. Asking for His presence. Seeking His presence, It isn't just about calm, or joy, or peace, it's about transforming the uncomfortable, moving our stuff in ways that are pleasing to Him to become more useful to further the kingdom. He is strong and mighty. He can handle whatever you are holding on to or whatever you are hiding. We need to seek Him earnestly and with abandon. His presence is more than just spending time with Him, it's allowing Him to transform every part of your life.
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