Today my need for pause and reflection came in the form of a
whisper. The gentle nudge of the spirit reminding me of opportunities he places
before me.
God is incredibly aware of my need for a reminders.
It was a mellow night in our household. Everyone seemed to be content in their own activities. I was feeling a little more tired than my norm so I decided to grab my Bible and my journal and head to my bedroom for some early quiet time. I finished my reading for the day and started in on my journaling, when my door opened with a "whatcha doing Mom?" from my 7 year old. "I'm having my quiet time" I tell her, hoping it will suffice her curious personality. Not a chance. She happily comes and crawls in next to me and proceeds to interrogate my every move. I do not happily admit, that my thoughts were headed towards frustration when the whisper came.
Teach.
I paused and intentionally opened my heart to see the amazing opportunity God had given me to show my daughter a part of how I have a relationship with Jesus. I explained to her my reading plan and how I journal and she explored the bible app on my phone that holds my reading plan and asked questions about the verses I was writing down after she read them. Her little curious heart ate up my every word.
I was reminded that her relationship with Jesus will be as unique as we are as individual humans.
I was reminded that Jesus was the ultimate teacher. That in order to see the Kingdom among us, I need to be open to seeing those teaching moments and do my best to be more like Jesus in the midst of them.
And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Deuteronomy 6:6-7
A whisper to pause. An extraordinary teaching moment. A valuable lesson.
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of
God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God isn’t ushered in with a visible
signs. You won’t be able to say ‘Here it is’ or ‘It’s over there’ for the
kingdom of God is among you.”
Luke 17:20-21
For the kingdom of God is among you…
Easily missed if you are in a worldly mindset but when you
open your heart to what God is whispering the beauty of His Kingdom comes to
life. It is among us. Not obvious, true
beauty never is, but in the simple things that require a listening heart. The
beauty of a sunset for instance, color abounds but when you open your heart you
see the creator behind the sunset who paints each one with magnificent uniqueness.
Or how a laughing child will bring a smile to just about anyone but when you
look at that child through the eyes of the One who made her with purposeful
adoration the beauty will take your breath away.
This my friends is what God has laid on my heart today. How
often do we go through our days, say our prayers, and go to bed without
stopping to take in the Kingdom of God that is among us. Looking at what may be
a simple thing through the eyes of the one who made it. Taking it in for what
it was truly meant to be.
God has put a challenge on my heart today. To take the time
to focus on one part of His Kingdom a day. For the next 30 days I will pick something from
my day that radiated with God’s love. It could be an ant on the ground to the
glorious sunset in the sky, it will be whatever God prompts me to pay attention
to. When He first put this on my heart, I thought, “well, isn’t that doing
exactly what Jesus told the Pharisees you couldn’t do by saying ‘Here it is’ or
‘It’s over there’?” But he gently told
me that it wasn’t about the marvelous things I would witness but the change in my
perspective, the change in my heart he was after. The opportunity to see true beauty in a fallen world. To see the
Kingdom of God through the ashes. It was about opening my heart to the
overwhelming beauty of our precious savior. It was about learning to live like
the Kingdom of God is among us.
So here goes nothing….
Day 1 – The Kingdom of God is among us….
Today while a few things caught my attention, one thing in
particular caused me to ponder and recognize the Kingdom.
The look on a man’s
face when he has successfully achieved something he has worked hard on.
Words to describe it
are fleeting, as I suspect most will be inadequate on this little journey of
mine, but I will do my best.
Man was created in God’s image.
God loves to create and build with passion.
Men love to create and build with passion.
The look on a man’s face when he has successfully achieved
something he has worked hard on.
A second thought about a delightful moment taught me something about our Father in heaven, that I likely wouldn't have thought about today. That is the Kingdom of God among us. Not obvious, but simple and beautiful.
What is something you took a moment to appreciate today?
