Living RefreshedSample

I will never forget the first time I ever physically experienced the presence of God. It was the day I prayed a simple prayer to invite Jesus to come into my life. I was sitting on the end of my bed as my Aunty started a conversation with me about asking Jesus into my heart. I couldn’t feel the significance of that moment but something started to change as I was lead in that prayer. My heart started to fill with emotion and by the end of the prayer I had a cascade of tears flooding down my cheeks. In just one moment it seemed that all the tension I had been carrying on the inside of me was released. I physically felt a heavy weight lift from off of my shoulders. And now a warm love seemed to touch my heart. It wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced. It was strong yet tender. It was joyful and relaxing all at the same time. It was amazing to say the least. 

Because of this encounter I was propelled into a pursuit of God that is still with me to this day. I want to stay in his presence and I want to get to know him more. This is what the prophet Hosea was articulating. Experiencing God’s presence encourages you to pursue Him. As I lead people in worship this is what I am aiming to do – usher them into an experience of His presence so that they will in turn want to pursue God for themselves. There is nothing like God’s presence. It has this incredible ability to restore and refresh us no matter what we have experienced. Traumas, disappointments, failures and the negative affects they have upon us can all be washed away in the presence of God. 

And the great promise in this portion of scripture from Hosea is that God will respond to our pursuit. What a great God! If we draw near to him, he will draw near to us! In God’s presence there is all that we need to refresh us. Let me encourage you to reach out to Him today. He will meet you right where you are at and refresh you.