I am struck with the reality that there are times that I don’t recognize God’s presence. Oh, I know He is always with us, but to actually acknowledge and recognize His presence is a step that I take for granted and I can miss the reality of it. Life is busy and I get preoccupied with the journey. Looking at Luke 24:31-32 we see that the disciples took a while before they recognized the Lord. They had been through the crucifixion and hadn’t yet seen the resurrected Lord. While their minds were on Him, certainly they weren’t expecting Him to “walk” with them
The disciples were “walking” with Him. Although they had spent three years in his physical presence, it still took them a while to recognize Him. Psalms 89:15 “…they walk in the light of Your countenance” also confirms how important it is for us to be walking with Him if we want to hear from Him. I believe this is the “24/7 Life Style of Worship” that we, as believers, are called to “dwell” in.
Walking in His presence will bring us joy! Notice that when the disciples recognized him their hearts “burned’ within them. They knew that voice! They recognized that voice especially when they were discussing the scripture.
So how do I “walk” in His presence? By making Him my passion. When I’m passionate about something it is constantly on my mind. It consumes my time, my thoughts, my behavior. TOTALLY CONSUMED from my devotional, “While You Recover”, says exactly how I feel:
So many things in the past
Have driven me to where I am now.
And while it may not be all that bad,
I can’t help but wonder where I’d be
If I had allowed God
To totally consume me with His passion.
His passion for loving others,
His passion for unity,
His passion for mercy,
His passion for the lost—
If I would be willing to give up my will, my time,
My cause—totally
For the passion of the cross,
What could God do with someone so totally consumed?
To be so close to Jesus
I can see every breath He breathes,
Every leaf he moves, Everything He desires.
And I hear His still small whisper as He bids me do
His will—and I do it
Because His cross has become my cause—my passion
And I’m totally consumed in its’ shadow.
May the fire that burns within me
Be the consuming desire to totally fulfill His purpose
And may it burn with such heat
That it spreads to those around me,
That when they look at me,
I’m so consumed that they don’t see the “ash of me”
But the consuming flame of God—
O to be totally consumed by that.
And when I come to the end of this earthly life,
And this shell that I live in is gone
May the legacy I leave behind
For my family, my friends—for the world—
Be a legacy that is totally consumed by the passion of my Lord.
So consumed that they do not see me at all,
But the reflection—the very image—
Of the One who totally consumed me,
My Lord and my God.
