Psalm 95:1-2 God Cherishes Time with YOU

Psalm 95:1-2 “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.”

So far this year, we have been looking at re-evaluating our lives. We have taken a deep look at ourselves and have seen things we do not like and desire to change. Much of it of course, are things that we need to approach the very throne of God and ask Him to change it for these things are very much part of us. We have also seen how far we have come since we first handed over our lives to the Lord, but no matter how far we have come, there is still far to go in our journey towards Christ-likeness.

In any true journey, even in journeys of the heart, it is appropriate to take breaks for water and nourishment and for a chance to catch one's breath. In our journey, we have with us living water, bread of heaven, and we travel with the very breath of God. It is appropriate then for us to stop, to take a break from the busyness and the stress of our travel, of our work, of our anything and to take time to worship the Lord, not just as a community, but also singularly, and on our own.  The Lord Himself delights in our songs of praise, no matter how out of tune we think we are. He loves our wanting and desiring to spend time with Him. He cherishes it much like you or I enjoy and cherish time spent with those close to us and near and dear to our hearts.

The Lord, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, He who created the seas and raised the mountains with only a word, He who spins the galaxies of the universe like we spin Frisbees, He wants to talk to you! He wants to spend time alone with YOU! How amazing is that? There is no one that He would rather be doing things with than you. You are that special to Him. I am that special to Him. It just blows my mind!  When we see ourselves as God sees us, then we cannot but praise Him and Glorify Him, and He loves it! We are naturally inclined to worship Him and spend time with Him and that is just what He wants. In fact, God lusts (if I may use the word) over you and your time, wanting as much of it for Himself as possible! Our God is all-mighty and all powerful, and yet He desires something that only we, His creation can give Him from our own free will. He desires our companionship.  He could command it or fore-ordain it, but then it would have no value because it was taken without joy or without our own submission. It holds value to Him because We choose to Give it to Him despite all the other things clamoring for it from us. That we chose Him over everything else He has created or done for us is a blessing to Him. Thats right, we can be a blessing to God! That is mind blowing!

This week, lets make more effort to spend time with our Lord and God. Let us learn to cherish those moments we have of being close to Him, and let us praise Him and give Him thanks that we can do so. Let us learn to appreciate what He already appreciates and desires. It is a gift that we can give to our Saviour and no one else can.

Still with Thee, O my God,
I would desire to be;
By day, by night, at home, abroad,
I would be still with Thee.

With Thee, in Thee, by faith
Abiding, I would be;
By day, by night, in life, in death,
I would be still with Thee.
                                           ^{James D. Burns, 1857}