I'm not sure when or why it started, but I've always been very good and being present in the moment. I'm mindful about taking in sights and sounds without it escaping my notice. I've been this way since high school - having the presence of mind to pause, take in a deep breath, and enjoy the atmosphere around me, taking nothing for granted. Even as my daughter grew up, as busy as we were, I tried to savor every moment and every age. It's as if the Holy Spirit slowed down time so I could take mental pictures and not miss any part of her life. I know that is rare and I treasure that every day. I consider it an anointing from the Lord; being intentional and mindful with people and places.
As we know, many people are not intentional or even thoughtful. But our God sees everything and He is always near to us. It can be a great comfort when people disappoint. That is just one of many reasons that we need to get to know the Lord and understand His Holy Spirit. We can lean on Him, and depend on Him, as people fall short, and He will comfort us. We live in a broken, sinful world and the only dependable One we have is God.
The ways and works of God are pretty miraculous! Everywhere we look we can see the glory of God; majestic mountains, vast seas, shining stars, flowers in bloom. And to think that Father God created it all, it ALL exists because He made it, and we get to enjoy it. We get to partake in the beauty of His creation, how amazing! God's creations are His designs. He is the Great Creator. He is the Master Designer. When we look at the creation story in Genesis, every time God created something He affirmed it and called it good. He put His seal of approval on all of His creation. His creation is truly divine design - no mistakes, not just "good enough" but perfect and approved.
Deuteronomy 32:4
The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness without iniquity (injustice), Just and upright is He.
When we take a moment to reflect on the creations of God, it's easy to become awestruck. His creations testify to Who He Is. Our God, Who operates in 3 ways; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He doesn't operate in one way or in 10 ways, He operates in 3 ways. Three is sacred to the Lord. He is Three in One, three is significant to Him. It is part of Who He is, it is holy. Anything of God is important and we have to be mindful about it. In the same way that we need to be intentional about being present with people, we need to be more mindful about being present with the Holy Spirit. It's important that we steward this gift that the Father, through the work of Jesus, has given to us. It's such an incredible gift that my own words can NOT even begin to describe. You and I host the very Holy Spirit of God inside us!
When we have the realization that God has gifted us His very own Holy Spirit, we should never be depressed or disappointed. If we are, then we've turned our attention off of the Lord and onto the circumstance; that means we haven't been intentional about living in the moment, we've become distracted instead. We all know that we can never get lost time back, and time lost with the Lord is tragic. Our thoughts need to remain on the things above which will get us through the things on the earth. We are heaven bound and we need to embrace where we are going, not on what we perceive that we will leave behind.
As we begin to study the number three, we will look at the way God designed for us to live. We are going to study God's spiritual truths and how they bear fruit no matter what the earthly circumstances look like - God's design isn't subject to earthly circumstances because He is in control of all things at all times. We also know that He is for us, not against us, so we have His protection from the things of this world. We aren't victims of circumstance, we are favored children of God! We need to start living like we know that to be a fact and as we do, we are a beacon of light pointing others to the benefits of knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior.
We must also remember that God has made us in His own image; WE are His most precious design. He saved His favorite creation to be made with 3 parts too. We have a spirit, a mind, and a body all to be used for the glory of God. The more we learn about God, the more we trust and love Him, the more we start to love ourselves. We will never truly love ourselves until we know the One Who created us and therefore we can't love others until we love God and ourselves - it's a package deal, it's God's divine design. There is a lot of brokenness in the world because we see people who don't love themselves, and/or don't love God, try to love other people and it gets messy. We often try to remove God from the equation when He created the equation and He's a part of it. (It's like trying to cook a gourmet meal when you left the main ingredient at the store - it changes the entire meal and experience.)
Let's hold the ways of this world, or even the ways that we've been taught loosely so God can show us His ways. I said in a church sermon last month "sometimes we hold onto our beliefs so tightly that don't have capacity to grasp God's ways and many times our beliefs and His Truths are two different things." I want to know what God expects of me. I want to know what His truth is. I don't care about being "right" I want know what actually is right as defined by my bible.
Are you ready to join in God's truth? Are you receive to receive God's divine design for your life? Let's journey together!!!
Here's a few action steps you can take to align yourself for what God wants to show you:
Lay ideas and beliefs at the feet of Jesus daily through prayer.
Pray Exodus 33:13 daily: Let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight.
Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to a different bible study or a new pastor. Each one has a different anointing from the Lord.
Ask questions about scripture and how to apply scripture. If you don't ask, your brain will make it's own connects and come up with an answer that might not be a biblical answer.
Lay down ego, defense, and expertise. Posture your heart to be teachable.