Day 17 — Gateways Into God's Presence

Psalm 27:4

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

What are the opportunities we have in this time? That might seem like an overly positive stance to take. However a by-product of this season for some might be a little more space, even amongst the unique challenges we all face. For others – for example for those who suddenly find themselves home-schooling children and juggling work – it might seem any space we had is gone!

The question is: could this time be about discovery or rediscovery of gateways into his presence?

I don’t know about you but the temptation with more space is to fill it and with less space to divert to things that we think will comfort. We can reach for familiarity in order to feel ‘normal’. More screen-time, more food, just one more cup of coffee (as beautiful as that can be!) and more online shopping.

At the end of our garden is a gateway into the Edgbaston reservoir. Sometimes it gets so overgrown with ivy that in order to be able to even open the gate, I have to spend some time cutting it back.

Cue today’s Psalm… What if this time was not simply about survival but that the Lord was going to use this very season to completely re-calibrate our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection? In amongst the questions and the chaos, we trust that there will be good things that come from this time. What if, in the ‘ivy’ of our full lives, there were hidden gateways to his presence? I love this from the MESSAGE translation of the Psalm; ‘God’s Kingdom is there for the finding’.

My prayer for us all at this moment in history is that there would be some new gateways cleared and opened and old ones rediscovered again. What could those gateways be for you? Thankfulness, joy, fasting, serving at the food bank, checking up on a neighbour?

One thing we know is that our ability to be in God’s presence has not been compromised. First and foremost, start your day with worship and prayer allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the gateways to his presence.

Prayer: God there is so much I want to discover about your nature and character. Jesus help me to clear the stuff in my life that gets in the way of meeting you and lead me into all the life you have for me in your Kingdom. Holy Spirit lead us into the spacious place of your presence.

 Song: Devotion

Luke Hellebronth