On February 17th I laid in my hammock beneath the trees and looking up at the sun I began to sing. I started with “Sanctuary” because that’s my favorite song I know completely by heart and without my phone to play music I started to sing.
“Lord prepare me
to be a sanctuary
pure and holy
tride and true
with thanksgiving
I’ll be a living
Sanctuary, for You.”
I sang it over and over until I began to feel peace and joy fill me. Then, I sang every song and verse that entered my mind and I even made up my own words. (If you’ve never gone somewhere alone and worshiped God by yourself where no one can hear you, I’d highly suggest it) His peace continued to overwhelm me and his love brought me to tears. If only everyday was sunny and warm. If only everyday I could learn to lay down my sorrows and pride and sing to Jesus like no one else was around.
I started begging God to give me more encounters with Him. For more moments of peace and overwhelming joy. And I heard him clearly say “everyone wants an encounter with Me, but not everyone is willing to surrender what is necessary to receive it.”
Wait…what? Then the verse 1 John 3:16 came to mind, “By this we know love, because He(Jesus) laid down His life for us.”
We all want to feel Gods presence and encounter Him again and again…or maybe for the first time. It’s because we were made to be in the garden with Him, in His presence. We were made for it but because of sin, pride, pain, hate, lust, bitterness, envy, etc… we are separated from Him and the ability to encounter Him.
God Himself became man, Jesus. And Jesus knew the only way to encounter us fully and forever was to die as man and be risen up in Spirit. He had to die, to be raised up… making it possible for our spirits to have an eternal encounter with Him.
If Jesus had to endure death to be with us, we ought to die to ourselves daily to have encounters with Him daily. If we want the most Holy God to “show up” we have to be willing to lay aside our sins and enter into His presence.
And heres the thing, He’s so patient and so jealous to have you back that He’s just waiting for you to turn to Him. You don’t have to “work for” anything to receive Him, you just have to give him yourself. Acknowledge His love for you and be willing to put aside what is evil so that through His Love for you, you become holy and blameless before Him.
I wrestled with this for a little bit, thinking of all the habits I don’t want to let go of and the needs I think I could meet on my own. But like the good Father He is, He whispered to me, “I have so much better my child.”
Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it really hard, the things He asks you to lay down…but He doesn’t ask in order to hurt you, He asks because he always has something better to give. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows,” – James 1:17… So let go and receive an encounter from the God above.
What is it you need to surrender today?
Is it a need to control? Is it the fear of the future? Is it pride that you can’t admit everything isn’t okay? Is it the desire to lust after your “needs” instead of trusting God has someone for you? Is it proof that he is real, instead of faith? Is it the box you’ve put Him in because you can’t imagine a God out of your own senses?
I pray you can lay it down, even just once, because It only takes one time to know you are living in a world created by the Most Holy and Living God.
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A prayer from my heart to yours:
Fill my cup God, overflow
I surrender all I know
Speak truth to what I’ve called belief
I bring these lies to your feet
Take my hand God, show me how
All of me Lord I will bow
Quickly lead me from this place
I lay down the chains I’ve tightly embraced
I’ll endure the storm forever, standing firm in your peace
I’ve picked up my cross, Jesus you have all of me
Jesus Messiah, you are worthy of your name
“Savior of the World” I will shout of your great fame
I will no longer hide behind the box I’ve put you in
The Holy Spirit is alive and still healing blind men’s sin
The body of Christ is waking up from their deep sleep
Arise Sons and Daughters for it’s time to fulfill your dreams
With His voice he created every little thing
So let’s rise up in prophecy and remember Jesus is OUR KING
In Jesus’ name, GET UP! and go out to all the nations
Speak in truth and speak boldly through Jesus Christ there is no condemnation
So surrender your need to sit on the thrown
give up your pride to do it all alone
Jesus wants you to forever encounter His love
And so the cross he endured but then to heaven above
Bow down and surrender your pride and all your fear
The one you seeks Jesus, to him he will draw near
