Monday, April 23, 2012 - Traveling Light

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right Hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

Psalm 16:11 mentions three pieces of gear we take from spending quality time with God.
1) First, He gives us a compass and direction by showing us either the path He's laid out for us to walk or the spot He wants us to stick to until further notice.  Unfortunately, in our eagerness to "get 'er done" we take off at light speed and leave God holding the other two blessings He's prepared for this stretch of the path. 
2) One of those blessings is the joy we find in God's Presence which motivates us to follow His call with light hearts.  My mom always says, "If it weren't for love, I'd never get anything done." Her love for her children and grandchildren spurs her to accomplish projects and goals she would otherwise feel no motivation to finish.  Knowing God and spending time with Him gives us joy that lightens our hearts and fuels us to follow God's direction with the right spirit.  
3) The other blessing we often leave behind in our haste to hit the trail is empowerment. Psalm 16:11 mentions God's Mighty Right Hand.  Scripturally, the right hand symbolizes power since more people have more strength in their right hands than in their left hands. Notice what we find at God's Right Hand along with that power: eternal pleasures.  Nothing feels better than accomplishing a goal or completing a mission knowing God did it through us.  
     Those of us who've been guilty of going to God just long enough to see which way He points us can testify we don't make far on the path until we've come back to HIm for clarification.  We're learning to stick around long enough for Him to fuel us with His joy and power and to strap in us everything we need to walk His path. Oddly enough, all His gear only lightens our loads.  


Lord, may we not view our time with You as a to-do on our list.  Show us how to sit still and rejoice in Your Presence.  Fill us with Your Joy so we're positive witnesses for You. Guard our hearts from the pride that says, "Just tell me what to do and I'll take it from there."  You want more than a work relationship; we're Your children and You have more than chores for us. You are Life and Light, Power and Glory. "You are the air we breathe" in every altitude. 
May we take the time to rejoice in You
In the Name of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life