"Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee" (Psalm 32:9).
The Lord would have His trusting children in Christ to live a life wherein we walk consciously walk with Him, in understanding based upon His truth. Rather than "bit and bridle", our Heavenly Father seeks to draw us into a reasoned, deliberate, and volitional response to His presence and working in our hearts. "When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face, my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord" will I seek" (Psalm 27:8).
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee" (Isaiah 26:3).
This does not mean that we are always thinking about Him. Life requires our full attention in order to fulfill responsibilities and enjoy blessings. We do not possess the capability at present of keenly focusing our minds on more than one matter at the time. I wouldn't want a cab driver in New York City to have his nose in the Bible or his head bowed in prayer as he drove me through the frantic streets of the Big Apple. Thus, we must seek and avail ourselves of the opportunities that do present themselves, or that we choose to make - "I will seek Him whom my soul loveth" (Song of Solomon 3:2). This means that we make sacrifices in order to consciously commune with our Lord, or to seek His grace, leading, and enabling along the pathways of our lives. Perhaps we arise early or stay up late to spend time in the Scriptures and in prayer. We make choices about free time that include conscious consideration of our Heavenly Father in reading, or prayer, or communication with brothers and sisters in Christ. We remember to express gratitude for blessings, and for the Lord's promised presence and working in times of trouble. We approach the throne of grace with intercession for others, supplication for ourselves, and of course, with praise for the One so worthy of our determined adoration and affirmation. And, in the busyness of life, we look for moments wherein we can direct our attention Homeward to join Solomon in seeking "Him whom my soul loveth".
If it be true - and it is - that "in Him we live and move and have our being" - a gift awaits us in the moments of our lives. As the Lord told Abraham, "I am thy… exceeding great reward" (Genesis 15:1). For born again believers, the Lord Jesus earned this blessedness for us, this gift of God Himself. "Through Him, we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father… In Christ we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him" (Ephesians 2:18; 3:12). Our Father beckons us to Himself, through the merits of His Son and the enabling of His Spirit. Our response involves the faith that believes we may come, and the sacrifices of time, attention, and other pleasures in order to avail ourselves of the Life of our lives. We shall not be disappointed, and any sacrifice we must make in order to know the love of God and love Him in holy response will involve no real sacrifice at all. He made us and remade us for this glory of consciously and deliberately received grace, and of loving response as proclaimed by the Psalmist….
"Thou wilt show me the path of life. In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore."
(Psalm 16:11)
"One thing have I desire of the Lord, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple."
(Psalm 27:4)
Weekly Memory Verse
He that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is His name.
(Luke 1:49)
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